TSR 1071 Rules Cyclopedia

those on magical items—may only be temporari- but are immune to sleep and charm effects and other. The "distance" between the Prime Plane
ly removed, at the DM's discretion, requiring a poison. Lawful clerics must take care to use this and the closest outer plane is 3—the Ethereal,
clerical dispel evil spell for permanently remov- spell only for good purpose. Animating the dead elemental, and Astral Planes lie "between"
ing the effects (or possibly a remove curse cast by is usually a Chaotic act. them. There are many outer planes, many too
a high-level spellcaster). far removed to be affected by this spell.
Cloudkill
The reverse of this spell, curse, causes a mis- Range: 1' The caster may choose the distance, up to the
fortune or penalty to affect the recipient. Curses Duration: 6 turns maximum allowed. The DM checks the caster's
are limited only by the caster's imagination, but Effect: Creates a moving poisonous cloud chance of insanity once, when the Immortal is
if an attempted curse is too powerful, it may re-
turn to the caster (DM's discretion)! Safe limits This spell creates a circular cloud of poisonous first contacted. If the caster is 21st level or
to curses may include: - 4 penalty on attack vapor, 30' across and 20' tall, which appears next greater, the chance of insanity is reduced by 5 %
rolls; - 2 penalty to all saving throws; prime req- to the spellcaster. It moves away at the rate of 60' per level of the caster above 20.
uisite reduced to half normal. The victim may (20' per round) in any one direction (with the
make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid the curse. wind, if any; otherwise, in the direction chosen Even if insanity does not result, the Immortal
by the caster). This cloud is heavier than air and may still not know the answer to the character's
Wall of Fire will sink when possible (going down holes, slid- questions, or may lie, at the DM's discretion. If
Range: 60' ing downhill, etc.). The cloud will evaporate if it the DM does not wish just to decide whether the
Duration: Concentration hits trees or thick vegetation. If cast in a small Immortal knows or is lying, he can roll on the
Effect: Creates 1200 square feet of fire area (such as in a 10' tall dungeon corridor), the chart below to determine this.
cloud may be of smaller than normal size.
This spell creates a thin vertical wall of fire of Contact Outer Plane
any dimension and shape, determined by the All living creatures within the cloud take 1
spellcaster, totalling 1,200 square feet (for exam- point of damage per round. Any victim of less Distance &
ple, 10'x120', 20' x 60', 30'x40', etc.). The than 5 Hit Dice must make a saving throw vs.
wall is opaque and will block sight. The wall can- poison or be killed by the vapors. Number of Chance o f . . Lying*
not be cast is a space occupied by another object. 50%
It lasts as long as the caster concentrates, without Conjure Elemental Questions Insanity Knowing
moving, on it. Range: 240' 3 5% 25% 45%
Duration: Concentration 4 10% 30% 40%
Creatures of less than 4 Hit Dice cannot break Effect: Summons one 16 HD elemental 5 15% 35%
through the wall. Creatures of 4 HD or more can 6 35%
break through, but take 1d6 points of damage in This spell allows the caster to summon any one 7 20% 40% 30%
the process. Undead and cold-using creatures elemental (AC -2, HD 16, Damage 3d8; see 8 25% 50%
(white dragons, frost giants, etc.) each take dou- the description of elementals in Chapter 14). 9 30% 60% 25%
ble damage while breaking through. The caster can only summon one of each type of 10 35% 70% 20%
elemental (earth, air, fire, water) in one day. 11 40% 80% 15%
Wizard Eye 12 45% 90% 10%
Range: 240' The elemental will perform any tasks within 50% 95%
Duration: 6 turns its power (carrying, attacking, etc.) as long as the 5%
Effect: Creates movable invisible eye caster maintains control by concentrating. The
caster cannot fight, cast other spells, or move * Or not knowing
This spell creates an invisible eye through over half Normal Speed, else he will lose control
which the caster can see. It is the size of a real eye of the elemental. If he loses control, he cannot The spellcaster can use this spell once a month
and has infravision (60' range). The wizard eye regain it. An uncontrolled elemental will try to at most (or less often, at the DM's option). An
floats through the air at up to 120' per turn, but slay its summoner, and may attack anyone in its insane character recovers with rest, after a num-
will not go through solid objects nor move more path while pursuing him. ber of weeks of game time equal to the number
than 240' away from the caster. The spellcaster of the plane contacted.
must concentrate (without moving) to see The spell's caster may return a controlled ele-
through the eye. mental to its home plane simply by concentra- Dissolve*
tion. A dispel magic or dispel evil spell can Range: 120'
Fifth Level Magical Spells return an uncontrolled elemental to its plane. Duration: 3-18 days
Effect: Liquifies 3000 square feet
Animate Dead Contact Outer Plane
Range: 60' Range: 0 (spellcaster only) This spell changes a volume of soil or rock (but
Duration: Permanent Duration: See below not a construction) to a morass of mud. An area
Effect: Creates zombies or skeletons Effect: 3-12 questions may be answered up to 10' deep or thick is affected, and may have
up to 3,000 square feet of surface area. The
This spell allows the spellcaster to make ani- This spell allows the spellcaster to contact one magic-user may choose the exact width and
mated, enchanted skeletons or zombies from of the outer planes of existence to seek knowl- length (20' x 150', 30' x 100', etc.), but the en-
normal skeletons or dead bodies within range. edge from an Immortal creature—a powerful tire area of effect must be within 240' of the cast-
These animated undead creatures will obey the magical being played by the DM. The wisest and er. Creatures moving through the mud are
cleric until they are destroyed by another cleric or most powerful Immortals live on the most dis- slowed to 10% of their normal movement rate at
a dispel magic spell. tant outer planes. However, mental contact with best, and may become stuck (at the DM's discre-
an Immortal may cause a mortal to go insane. tion, a victim must make saving throw vs. spells
For each experience level of the cleric, he may The more distant the plane, the greater the to avoid becoming stuck).
animate one Hit Die of undead. A skeleton has chance of a correct answer—but the greater the
the same Hit Dice as the original creature, but a chance of insanity as well. The reverse of this spell (harden) will change
zombie has one Hit Die more than the original. the same volume of mud to rock, but perma-
Note that this doesn't count character experi- The number of questions the spellcaster may nently. A victim in the mud may make a saving
ence levels as Hit Dice: For purposes of this spell, ask is equal to the "distance" to the outer plane. throw vs. spells to avoid being trapped in the
all humans and demihumans are 1 HD crea- "Distance" to any other plane of existence is hardened mud.
tures, so the remains of a 9th level thief would measured in the number of planes the character
be animated as a zombie with 2 HD. would have to cross in order to visit that plane. Feeblemind
See the chart on page 264 to see where the vari- Range: 240'
Animated creatures do not have any spells. ous planes of existence lie in relation to one an- Duration: Permanent until dispelled
Effect: Lowers Intelligence score to 2

This spell will only affect a magic-user, elf, or
a monster which can cast magical spells; it does
not affect those which cast only cleric or druid
spells.

It will make the victim helpless, unable to cast Passwall "Casual Knowledge" means that the caster
spells or think clearly (as if the victim has an In- Range: 30' has been there once or twice, or is visualizing the
telligence score of 2). The victim may make a Duration: 3 turns aiming point from descriptions or magical
saving throw vs. spells to avoid the effect, but Effect: Creates a hole 10' deep means. "General Knowledge" means the caster
with a -4 penalty to the roll. has been to the area often, or has spent several
This spell causes a hole 5' diameter, 10' deep weeks studying the area magically (via crystal
The feeblemind lasts until removed by a dis- to appear in solid rock or stone only. The hole ball, etc.). "Exact Knowledge" means the caster
pel magic spell (at normal chances for success) or may be horizontal or vertical. has made a detailed personal study of the area.
by a cleric's cureall spell.
The stone reappears at the end of the dura- Once the DM has determined how well the
Hold Monster* tion. If someone is still in the tunnel when the character knows the destination, the DM rolls
Range: 120' stone reappears, he gets a saving throw vs. turn d%. If the result is "Success," the teleporter ar-
Duration: 6 turns + 1 turn per level of the caster to stone. If he succeeds, he is hurled out the rives exactly where the caster desired.
Effect: Paralyzes 1-4 creatures nearest end of the tunnel. If he fails, he is
trapped within the reappearing stone, and dies. If the result is "Too High," the recipient ar-
This spell has an effect identical to that of a rives 1d10 X 10' above the desired destination,
hold person spell, but will affect any living crea- Telekinesis then falls, taking damage on impact (1d6 points
ture. (It does not affect the undead.) Each victim Range: 120' of damage per 10' fallen). (If he had already cast
must make a saving throw vs. spells or be para- Duration: 6 rounds a fly or levitate spell, or already had a flying de-
lyzed. The spell may be cast at a single creature Effect: 200 cn of weight per level of caster vice operating, he can avoid this damage.)
or a group. If cast at a single creature, the victim
takes a - 2 penalty to his saving throw. If cast at This spell enables the spellcaster to move a If the result is "Too Low," the recipient arrives
a group, it will affect 1d4 creatures (of the spell- creature or object simply by concentrating. The 1d10 x 10' below the desired location. Any crea-
caster's choice, and within spell range), but with item may weigh up to 200 cn (20 lbs) per level of ture teleporting into a solid object is instantly
no penalties to the saving throw. the caster (a 10th level elf could move an object killed unless a vacant area (such as a cave or
weighing up to 2,000 cn, or 200 lbs). The caster dungeon) lies at that point (DM's discretion).
The reverse of this spell, free monster, re- may move the object in any direction, at a rate of
moves the paralysis of up to four victims of hold up to 20' per round. Wall of Stone
person or hold monster spells. It has no other ef- Range: 60'
fect. An unwilling victim may make a saving throw Duration: Special
vs. spells to avoid the effect. If he makes the roll, Effect: Creates 1000 cubic feet of stone
Magic Jar he doesn't budge. If a target is being held by
Range: 30' someone, the holder can make a saving throw This spell creates a vertical stone wall exactly 2'
Duration: See below with a — 2 penalty to retain the target item. thick. The caster chooses the wall's dimensions
Effect: Take over one body and shape, but its total area must be 500 square
If the telekinesis grabs an object that is being feet or less (10'X50', 2 0 ' X 2 5 ' , etc.), and the
This spell causes the caster's body to fall into a carried but not held in the hand, the owner may entire wall must be within 60' of the caster.
trance, while the caster's life force is placed in an grab for it as it is yanked away. To catch the de-
inanimate object (which is called a magic jar re- parting object, he must make a saving throw vs. The caster must create the wall where the wall
gardless of its form; it does not have to be an ac- spells with a — 5 penalty. will rest on the ground or similar support, and
tual jar) within range. From this object, the cannot create the wall in a space already occu-
caster's life force may attempt to take over any The caster must concentrate while moving ob- pied by another object.
one creature within 120' of the magic jar. If the jects, and the objects will fall if the caster is dis-
victim makes a successful saving throw vs. spells, turbed. The wall lasts until it is dispelled or physically
the attempt fails and the caster may not try to broken.
take over that victim again for one turn. If the Teleport
victim fails the saving throw, the caster takes Range: 10' If a wall of stone topples, it causes 10d10
over his body and the life force of the victim is Duration: Instantaneous points of damage to what it hits, and it shatters.
placed into the magic jar. Effect: Transports one creature with equipment
Woodform
The caster may cause the body to perform any This spell instantly transports the spellcaster Range: Touch
normal actions, but not special abilities (similar or another recipient to any unoccupied destina- Duration: Permanent
to a polymorph self effect). A dispel evil spell tion on the same plane of existence. Distance Effect: Creates 1,000 cubic feet of wood
will force the spellcaster's life force out of the vic- does not matter so long as the destination is on
tim's body and back into the magic jar. When the same plane. The recipient arrives at the des- This spell creates a mass of wood equal to
the spellcaster returns to his or her real body, the tination with all equipment he was carrying. An 1,000 cubic feet; it may be arranged in any fash-
victim's life force returns to his body and the unwilling victim can make a saving throw vs. ion the caster desires (10' x 10' x 10' block,
spell ends. spell to avoid the spell effects. 25'x 20'x 2' wall, etc.)

If the possessed body is destroyed, the victim's The caster may not deliberately choose a desti- Casting time varies depending on the com-
life force dies, and the caster's life force returns nation he knows to be occupied by a solid object, plexity of the design. A simple wall and other
to the magic jar. From there the caster may try to and he must choose to appear on a surface (such simple shapes take 1 round. A simple staircase
take over another body or return to the original as ground level or the top of a building); he can- may take 10 rounds (1 turn). A complicated de-
body. not choose to appear far up in the air. sign which is supposed to adhere to very tight
specifications—such as the keel of a ship—could
If the magic jar is destroyed while the caster's Teleporting is dangerous; there is a chance the take the maximum time allowable, 12 turns (2
life force is within it, the caster is killed. If the teleporter will appear in a solid object. The tele- hours) just to work up in rough form. When the
magic jar is destroyed while the caster's life force porter's chance of arriving safely depends on how caster wants to try a complicated design, the DM
is in a victim's body, the life force is stranded in carefully the caster has studied the area. decides how long the casting will take.
that body, and the life force of the body's origi-
nal owner is destroyed. If the caster's original On the chart below, the DM determines how The object must be created as a single piece,
body is destroyed, his life force is stranded in the well the caster knows the destination. with no moving parts. The original caster of the
magic jar until the caster can take over another spell may later cast woodform on an object he
body! Teleport Chances has already created with the same spell, in order
to modify it for up to two hours. This is how
The taking over of another body is a Chaotic Knowledge of Destination Result spellcaster artists often make fine woodcarvings,
act. for instance. When he is satisfied with his work,
Casual General Exact Success he casts woodform on it one last time to "lock it
01-50 01-80 01-95 Too High in place," and it may no longer be modified by
81-90 Too Low woodform spells.
51-75 91-00 96-99
76-00 00

The mass of wood must be created so as to rest Geas* Move Earth
on the ground or similar support, and cannot be Range: 30' Range: 240'
cast in a space occupied by another object. Duration: Until completed or removed Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Compels one creature Effect: Moves soil
A caster can create his wood with one or more
rough sides, and later he or another caster can This spell forces a victim either to perform or This spell causes soil (but not rock) to move.
use another woodform to create wood perfectly avoid a stated action. For example, a character The caster can use the spell to move earth hor-
joined to the first on that side—and there will be may be geased to bring back an object for the izontally to make a hill, or vertically, to open a
no seam or weakness at the joining. This makes caster, to eat whenever the chance arises, or never large hole (one up to 240' deep, unless it reaches
it a good spell for creating strong ships and to reveal certain information. The action must solid rock). The spell moves the soil at up to 60'
wooden buildings. be possible and not directly fatal or else the geas per turn, and at the end of the spell duration,
will return and affect the caster instead! the moved soil remains where it is put. This spell
The caster may decide what sort of wood is cre- is helpful for constructing castles.
ated, within reason. The DM may refuse to allow When the spell is first cast, the victim may
the caster to pick very expensive, exotic, or magi- make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid the spell's Projected Image
cal woods. effect. Range: 240'
Duration: 6 turns
The wood created by this spell is not dispella- If the victim ignores the geas, penalties (de- Effect: Creates one image
ble; it lasts until broken through, burned, or de- cided by the DM) are applied until the character
stroyed by spells like disintegrate. either obeys the geas or dies. Suitable penalties This spell creates an image of the caster up to
include penalties in combat, lowered ability 240' away; the image will last without concentra-
The armor class and hit points of building ma- scores, loss of spells, pain and weakness, and so tion. The projected image cannot be distin-
terials are given in the Fortifications Table on forth. Dispel magic and remove curse spells will guished from the original except by touch. Any
page 137. Based on those guidelines, a wall of not affect a geas. spell the spellcaster casts will seem to come from
wood has an AC of -4(6) and 60 hit points per the image, but the caster must still be able to see
1' thickness. Most building exterior walls would The geas makes the victim perform an action, the target.
be about 8" thick and have 40 hit points. but does not make him think it is his own idea:
Once he finishes performing his task, he may de- Spells and missile attacks will not appear to af-
Sixth Level Magical Spells cide to exact revenge on the spellcaster.
fect the image. If the image is touched or struck
Anti-Magic Shell The reverse of this spell, remove geas, will rid by a hand-to-hand weapon, it disappears.
Range: 0 (Caster only) a character of an unwanted geas and its effects.
Duration: 12 turns However, if the caster is of a lower level than the Reincarnation
Effect: Personal barrier which blocks magic caster of the original geas, there is a chance of
failure (5% per level difference). Range: 10'
This spell creates an invisible barrier around Duration: Permanent
the spellcaster's body (less than an inch away). Invisible Stalker Effect: Creates a new body
The barrier stops all spells or spell effects, in- Range: 0 (Caster only)
cluding the caster's. The caster may destroy the Duration: Until mission is accomplished To cast this spell, the magic-user must have a
shell at will; otherwise, it lasts for the duration. Effect: Summons one creature part (however small) of a dead body. The spell
Except for a wish, no magic (including a dispel magically creates a new body, and the life force
magic spell) can cancel the barrier. This spell summons an invisible stalker (from
Chapter 14) which will perform one task for the which was once in the dead body returns and in-
Death Spell caster. The creature will serve the caster regard-
Range: 240' less of the time or distance involved, until the habits the new one. The DM can choose what
Duration: Instantaneous task is completed or until the creature is slain. A sort of body is created, or can refers to the tables
Effect: Slays 4d8 (4-32) Hit Dice of creatures dispel evil spell will force the creature to return below to decide.
to its home plane.
within a 60' x 60' x 60' area If the life force is reincarnated as a different
Lower Water race, all details of the new race apply, instead of
This spell will affect 4d8 (4-32) Hit Dice of liv- Range: 240' the old. For example, a cleric reincarnated as an
ing creatures within the given area. Normal Duration: 10 turns elf is no longer a cleric, but is able to cast magic-
plants and insects are automatically slain, and Effect: Cuts depths to half normal user spells and fight as an elf.
those with no hit points (normal insects, plants
smaller than shrub-sized, for instance) are not This spell causes a body of water to lower to The victim's level of experience does not
counted in the total affected. Undead are not af- half its normal depth. It will effect an area up to change unless restricted by the maximum for
fected, nor are creatures with 8 or more Hit Dice 10,000 square feet (width and length). If cast on
(or levels of experience). a constantly-renewed source of water (such as a demihumans. If the victim is reincarnated in a
river or ocean), it lowers that area of water for the monster body, the victim's alignment helps de-
The lowest Hit Dice creatures are affected entire duration of the spell (or until it is dis- termine the type of monster which appears; a
first. Each victim must make a saving throw vs. pelled); surrounding water does not rush in until character will not be reincarnated in the body of
death ray or die. the spell is ended. If cast around a boat or ship, a monster that cannot have his alignment. A
the vessel may become stuck. monster body may not gain levels of experience;
Disintegrate the character must play as the reincarnated crea-
Range: 60' At the end of the spell's duration, the sudden ture, or retire from play, or (perhaps) be reincar-
Duration: Instantaneous rush of water filling the "hole" will sweep a nated again when slain.
Effect: Destroys one creature or object ship's deck clear of most items (and people who
fail their saving throws vs. spells) and cause Reincarnation Results
This spell causes one creature or nonmagical 1dl2 + 20 (21-32) points of hull damage.
object to crumble to dust. A victim may make a Type of Body Appearing (Roll 1d8)
saving throw vs. death ray to avoid the effect. This spell can turn a rampaging river into a 1 Human
(The spell can disintegrate a dragon, a ship, or a river which the heroes' party can ford, can cause 5 Elf
10' section of wall, for example.) some pools to lower far enough for the adventur- 2 Human 6 Halfling
ers to see what's deeper in them, etc. If cast
The spell does not affect magical items or spell around a boat or ship, this spell may cause the 3 Human 7 Original race
effects. bay or river to drop enough for the vessel to be- 4 Dwarf 8 Monster
come stuck. (see below)

Type of Monster Body Appearing (Roll 1d6) appropriate choice. However, a caster can choose mal. Excess water (from rain, snow, mud trans-
such stones as clear lead crystal, and so make muted from rock, etc.) dries up.
1d6 Lawful Neutral Chaotic thick, strong, perfect windows with this spell.
1 Blink Dog Ape, White Bugbear High Winds: No missile fire or flying is possi-
2 Gnome Bear* Gnoll The stone is not dispellable; it lasts until bro- ble. Movement reduced to half normal. At sea,
3 Neanderthal Centaur Kobold ken or destroyed by spells like disintegrate. ships sailing with the wind move 50% faster. In
4 Owl, giant Griffon Manticore the desert, high winds create a sandstorm, for
Lizard Man Orc The armor class and hit points of building ma- half normal movement and 20' visibility.
5 Pegasus terials are given on the Fortifications Table on
6 Treant Pixie Troglodyte page 137. In general, from those guidelines, Tornado: This creates a whirlwind under the
stone walls have an AC of -4(6) and 100 hit magic-user control, attacking and moving as if it
* Any normal bear points per 1' thickness; doing 500 hit points of was a 12 HD air elemental. At sea, treat the tor-
damage to a 5' wall will definitely knock a hole nado as a storm or gale.
The DM may add more monsters to the lists. in it. Building exterior walls tend to be about 7"
Such monsters should have 8 Hit Dice or less and thick and have 60 hit points. Seventh Level Magical Spells
should be at least semi-intelligent.
Wall of Iron Charm Plant
Stone to Flesh* Range: 120' Range: 120'
Range: 120' Duration: Permanent Duration: 6 months(see below)
Duration: Permanent Effect: Creates 500 square feet of iron Effect: Charms one tree or more smaller plants
Effect: One creature or object
This spell creates a vertical wall of iron exactly Similar to a charm person spell, this effect
This spell turns any one statue (or quantity of 2' thick. The magic-user may choose any length causes one tree, six medium-sized bushes, 12
stone up to 10' x 10' x 10') to flesh. It is usually and width, but the total area must be 500 square small shrubs, or 24 small plants to become
used to restore a character turned to stone (by feet or less (10'X50', 2 0 ' X 2 5 ' , etc.), and the friends of the magic-user (no saving throw).
gorgon breath, for example). entire wall must be within 120' of the caster. The However, a plant-like monster (treant, shrieker,
caster must create the wall so it rests on the etc.) may make a saving throw vs. spells to resist
The reverse of this spell, flesh to stone, will ground or similar support. It cannot be cast in a the effect.
turn one living creature, including all equip- space occupied by another object. It lasts until
ment carried, to stone. The victim may make a dispelled, disintegrated, or physically broken The charmed plants will understand and obey
saving throw vs. turn to stone to avoid the effect. (though it will resist all but giant-sized physical all commands of the magic-user, as long as the
attacks). Most other spell effects, including fire- tasks are within their ability (including the en-
Stoneform ball, lightning bolt, etc., have no effect on a wall tangling of passers-by within range, but not in-
Range: Touch of iron. If the wall is made to topple, it causes cluding movement, sensing alignment, etc.).
Duration: Permanent 10d10 (10-100) points of damage to whatever it The plants will remain charmed for six months,
Effect: Creates 1,000 cubic feet of stone hits, and shatters. until the charm is dispelled, or until winter
(when they sleep). (This spell is quite useful
This spell creates a mass of stone equal to If the wall is attacked, it has a number of hit around a stronghold, both inside and out, espe-
1,000 cubic feet; it may be arranged in any fash- points equal to the level of the caster. A rust cially when used after a 4th level growth of
ion the caster desires (10'x 10' x 10' block, monster can destroy a wall of iron with a single plants spell, and possibly a permanence as well.)
25'x 20'x 2'wall, etc.). touch. Otherwise, the wall can only be damaged
by battering; see Chapter 9 (page 118) for more Create Normal Monsters
Casting time varies depending on the com- on battering attacks. Range: 30'
plexity of the design. A simple wall and other Duration: 1 turn
simple shapes take 1 round. A simple staircase Weather Control Effect: Creates 1 or more monsters
may take 10 rounds (1 turn). A complicated de- Range: 0 (magic-user only)
sign meant to adhere to very tight Duration: Concentration This spell causes monsters to appear out of
specifications—such as an ornate fountain or Effect: All weather within 240 yards thin air. All monsters appearing will understand
statue—could take the maximum time allowa- and obey the caster's commands—fighting, car-
ble, 12 turns (2 hours), just to work up in rough This spell allows the magic-user to create one rying or fetching things, etc. They will faithfully
form. When the caster wants to try a compli- special weather condition in the surrounding ar- obey all commands to the best of their abilities.
cated or unusual design, the DM decides how ea (within a 240 yard radius). The spellcaster Each monster will appear carrying its normal
long the casting will take. may select the weather condition. The spell only weapons and wearing its normal armor (if any),
works outdoors, and the weather will affect all but arrives otherwise unequipped. At the end of
The object must be created as a single piece, creatures in the area (including the caster). The one turn, all the monsters created vanish back
with no moving parts. The original caster of the effects last as long as the spellcaster concentrates, into thin air, along with all their equipment. (If
spell may later cast Stoneform on an object he without moving; if the caster is being moved (for a monster has dropped a weapon while fighting
has already created with the same spell in order example, aboard a ship), the effect moves also. and then vanishes, the weapon disappears, too.)
to modify it for up to two hours. This is how The spell's effects vary, but the following results
magic-user artists often make fine statues, for in- are typical: The total number of Hit Dice of monsters ap-
stance. When he is satisfied with his work, the pearing is equal to the level of the magic-user
magic-user casts Stoneform on it one last time to Rain: - 2 penalty to attack rolls applies to all casting the spell. (If the spellcaster's level is not
"lock it in place," and it may no longer be modi- missile fire. After three turns, the ground be- an exact multiple of the monsters' Hit Dice,
fied by Stoneform spells. comes muddy, reducing movement to half the drop all fractions). The magic-user may choose
normal rate. the exact type of monsters created, but he must
The mass of stone must be created to rest on select only monsters with no special abilities
the ground or similar support, and cannot be Snow: Visibility (the distance a creature can (i.e., no asterisk next to the Hit Die number in
cast in a space occupied by another object. see) is reduced to 20'; movement is reduced to the monster explanation). This spell does not
half the normal rate. Rivers and streams may create humans, demihumans, or undead. Crea-
A caster can create his stone with one or more freeze over. Mud remains after the snow thaws, tures of 1-1 Hit Dice are counted as 1 Hit Die;
rough sides, and later he or another caster can for the same movement penalty. creatures of 1/2 Hit Die or less are counted as 1/2
use another Stoneform to create stone joined to Hit Die each.
the first on that side—and there will be no seam Fog: 20' visibility, half normal movement.
or weakness at the joining. This makes it a good Those within the fog might become lost, moving Example: With this spell, a 15th level caster
spell for creating strong walls and gigantic in the wrong direction. could summon 30 giant bats, rats, or kobolds
buildings—colisea, palaces, etc. (1/2 Hit Die monsters); or 15 goblins, orcs, or
Clear: This cancels bad weather (rain, snow, hobgoblins (1 Hit Die monsters); or 7 rock ba-
The caster may decide what sort of stone is cre- fog) but not secondary effects (such as mud).
ated, within reason. The DM may refuse to allow
the caster to pick very expensive, exotic, or magi- Intense Heat: Movement reduced to half nor-
cal stones. Valuable jade, for instance, is an in-

boons, gnolls, or lizard men (2 Hit Die mon- first on that side—and there will be no seam or Mass Invisibility*
sters); or 5 boars, draco lizards, or bugbears (3 weakness at the joining. This makes it a good Range: 240'
Hit Die monsters); or 3 black bears, panthers, or spell for creating iron reinforcements for walls. Duration: Permanent until broken
giant weasels (5 Hit Die monsters); and so forth. Effect: Creatures or objects in 60' square area
The iron so created is not dispellable; it lasts
Delayed Blast Fireball until broken or destroyed by spells like disinte- This bestows invisibility (as the 2nd level
Range: 240' grate or creatures such as rust monsters. spell) on several creatures. All the recipients
Duration: 0 to 60 rounds must be within an area 60' square within 240' of
Effect: Delayed blast fireball of 20' radius The armor class and hit points of building ma- the magic-user. The spell will affect up to 6
terials are given in the Fortifications Table on dragon-sized creatures, or up to 300 man-sized
As the name implies, this is a fireball spell page 137. Following these general guidelines, creatures. After the spell is cast, each creature
whose blast can be delayed; it behaves like a we find that an iron wall will have an AC of — becomes invisible, along with all equipment it
time bomb. When he casts the spell, the magic- 10(2) and about 15 hit points per 1" thickness. carries (as per the invisibility spell, above). An
user states the exact number of rounds of delay invisible creature will remain invisible until he or
(from 0 to 60) until the spell detonates. A small Lore she attacks or casts any spell.
rock, very similar in appearance to a valuable Range: 0 (magic-user only)
gem, then shoots out toward the desired loca- Duration: Permanent The reverse of this spell, (appear), will cause
tion, and remains at that location until the Effect: Reveals details of 1 item, place, or person all invisible creatures and objects in a
stated delay elapses. The "gem" may be picked 20' x 20' x 20' volume to become visible. Crea-
up, carried, and so forth. By means of this spell, the magic-user may tures on the Astral and Ethereal planes are not
gain knowledge of one item, place, or person. If within the area of effect; the spell cannot reach
When the stated duration ends, it explodes in the caster holds the item being studied, the spell across planar boundaries. All other forms of in-
an effect identical to a normal fireball—a sud- takes 1d4 turns to complete, and the magic-user visibility are affected, both magical and natural,
den instantaneous explosion inflicting 1d6 learns the item's name, method of operation and and all victims of this spell cannot become invisi-
points of damage per level of the caster to all command words (if any), and approximate num- ble again for one full turn.
within the area of effect (a sphere of 20' radius). ber of charges (if any, within five of the correct
Each victim may make a saving throw vs. spells number). Power Word Stun
to take half damage. Range: 120'
If the item has more than one mode of opera- Duration: 2d6 or 1d6 turns
Once the spell has been cast, the explosion tion, or more than one command word, only one Effect: Stuns 1 creature of 70 hp or less
cannot be hurried nor further delayed, except function will be revealed for each lore spell used,
with a wish. The "gem" created is pure magic, and the spell will not even hint that the object This lets the caster stun one victim within 120'
not an actual object, and cannot be moved magi- has any other functions. (no saving throw). A victim with 1-35 hit points
cally (by telekinesis, teleport, etc.); however, it is stunned for 2d6 turns; a victim with 36-70 hit
can be dispelled. If the spell is being used to investigate a place points is stunned for 1d6 turns. No creature with
or person, or an item which the caster is not 71 or greater hit points is affected.
Ironform holding, the spell may take 1d100 days to com-
Range: Touch plete. A purely legendary topic should require Reverse Gravity
Duration: Permanent large amounts of time, and the information Range: 90'
Effect: Creates 500 square feet of iron gained may be in the form of a riddle or poem. Duration: 1/5 round (2 seconds)
The Dungeon Master should reveal only general Effect: Causes victims in a 30' cubic volume to
This spell creates a wall of iron 2" thick (or details if the place is large, or if the person is of
less) with an area equal to 500 square feet; it may great power. fall upward
be arranged in any fashion the caster desires
(10'x 50' wall, or 25' X 20' wall, etc.) Magic Door* This spell affects all creatures and objects
Range: 10' within a cubic volume 30'x 30'x 30', causing
Casting time varies depending on the com- Duration: 7 uses them to "fall" in a direction opposite the nor-
plexity of the design. A simple wall and other Effect: Creates one passage mal gravity. In two seconds, creatures and objects
simple shapes take 1 round. A simple staircase can "fall" a maximum of 65'. No saving throw is
may take 10 rounds (1 turn). A complicated de- This spell may be cast on any wall, floor, ceil- allowed, and all victims hitting a ceiling or other
sign which is supposed to adhere to very tight ing, or section of ground. It creates a magical, obstruction take 1d6 points of damage per 10'
specifications—such as a giant portcullis—could invisible doorway that only the spellcaster may "fallen." Note that after the two seconds have
take the maximum time allowable, 12 turns (2 use. It also creates a passage through up to 10' of elapsed, gravity returns to normal and all victims
hours) just to create in rough form. When the non-living solid material beyond the doorway it- will fall back to their original places, suffering
caster wants to try a complicated or unusual de- self. It cannot be created in a living object of any more falling damage. The DM should make a
sign, the DM decides how long the casting will kind. The door is undetectable except by a de- morale check for each NPC victim of this spell.
take. tect magic spell, and cannot be destroyed except
by a dispel magic spell (at normal chances for Example: A magic-user casts this spell at a
The object must be created as a single piece, success). group of approaching giants in a 40' tall room.
with no moving parts. The original caster of the The giants "fall" to the ceiling and then back to
spell may later cast ironform on an object he has The magic door lasts until dispelled, or until it the floor, each taking a total of 8d6 points of
already created with the same spell, in order to has been used seven times. Note that each one- damage in the process: 4d6 from "falling" up
modify it for up to two hours. This is how magic- way passage through the door is counted as a and hitting the ceiling, and another 4d6 from
user artists often make fine iron statues, for in- separate use. falling back down to the floor.
stance. When he is satisfied with his work, he
casts ironform on it one last time to "lock it in The reverse of this spell, magic lock, is a pow- Statue
place," and it may no longer be modified by erful version of the 2nd level wizard lock spell, Range: 0 (Magic-user only)
ironform spells. but cannot be affected by a knock spell or by the Duration: 2 turns per level of the caster
effects of any magical item. The magic lock Effect: Allows caster to turn to stone
The iron wall must be created to rest on the causes any one portal to become totally impass-
ground or similar support, and cannot be cast in able as long as the magic remains; only the spell- This allows the magic-user to change into a
a space occupied by another object. Unlike the caster can use the portal. The spell can affect an statue, along with all nonliving equipment he
metal created by the wall of iron spell, it does empty 10' X 10' portal-like area (such as an emp- carries, up to once per round (to or from statue
not have to be created in a vertical position. ty doorway). The locked portal does not change form) for the duration of the spell. The caster
in appearance. As with a magic door, the en- can concentrate on other spells while in statue
A caster can create his iron with one or more chantment remains until the portal has been
tough sides, and later he or another caster can used seven times or until removed by a dispel
use another ironform to create iron joined to the magic spell.

for, though he can cast no new spells while in (at normal chances of success) or a wish. the features, statistics (abilities), and memories
this form. Although this spell does not give him possessed by the original at the time the flesh
immunity to "turn to stone" effects (from a gor- Teleport Any Object was taken. This is a very important point. For ex-
gon's attack), the caster may simply turn back to Range: Touch ample, a 20th level magic-user might leave a
normal one round after becoming petrified. Duration: Instantaneous pound of flesh with a scroll of this spell, so that
Effect: Causes 1 object to teleport he might be restored if lost; but if the character
While in statue form, the magic-user is armor gains another ten levels of experience and then
class -4, but cannot move. He cannot be dam- This spell is similar to the 5th level teleport dies, the clone will be the younger, less-
aged by cold or fire (whether normal or magical) spell, but nonliving objects can be affected. Af- experienced, 20th level form.
or by normal weapons. He does not breathe, and ter casting this spell, the spellcaster may touch
is thus immune to all gas attacks, drowning, etc. one creature or object and cause it to teleport. If a clone duplicates a person still living, or if
Magical weapons and other spells (such as light- The normal chance of error apply (see the de- the original person regains life, a very hazardous
ning boh) inflict normal damage on him. If a scription of the teleport spell above) an object situation develops. Each form instantly becomes
fire or cold spell is cast at the magic-user while in appearing too high will fall and probably break, aware of the other's existence. A partial mind-
normal form, the character need only win initia- while one appearing too low will be destroyed link exists between them; each can feel the oth-
tive (with a + 2 bonus) to turn into a statue be- instantly. If the spellcaster uses this spell to tele- er's emotions (but no other thoughts). If either
fore the attacking spell strikes. port himself, there is no chance for error. The one is damaged, the other takes the same dam-
caster may not deliberately choose a destination age (but may make a saving throw vs. spells to
Summon Object occupied by a solid object or in open air above take half damage). This effect does not apply to
Range: Infinite the ground. charm, sleep, cures, or other effects that do not
Duration: Instantaneous cause damage.
Effect: Retrieves one object from caster's home The maximum weight affected is 500 cn (50
pounds) per level of the caster. If an object is a The clone is immediately obsessed with the
By means of this spell, the magic-user can solid part of a greater whole (such as a section of need to destroy its original and will do anything
cause one nonliving object to leave the spellcas- wall), the spell will teleport a maximum of one to accomplish this. From the time a clone be-
ters's home and appear in his hand. The object 10' x 10' x 10' cube of material. If the caster is comes aware of its original, it has one day per
must weigh no more than 500 cn (50 pounds), trying to teleport a creature that weighs more level of its creator (i.e., the caster of the clone
and may be no bigger than a staff or small chest. than the spell allows, the spell fails. spell) to kill the original.
The spellcaster must be very familiar with the
item and its exact location, or the spell will not If another creature holds or carries the item Example: A 25th level fighter dies. His friend
work. The caster must also have prepared the which the caster is trying to teleport, the creature the 34th level magic-user, who possesses a pound
item beforehand by sprinkling it with a special may make a saving throw vs. spells (with a —2 of the fighter's flesh for this precise purpose,
powder that costs 1,000 gold pieces per item pre- penalty). If the saving throw is successful, the clones him. Then someone else raises the fighter
pared; the powder becomes invisible and does teleport fails. from the dead. The clone becomes aware of his
not interfere with the item in any way. The spell original and is compelled to kill him. He has 34
cannot summon items that have not been pre- If the caster touches another creature, the tar- days to do so—one day for every experience level
pared in this fashion. get creature may make a saving throw vs. spells of his creator.
(if so desired) to avoid being teleported, but
If the magic-user prepares a chest for use with with a -2 penalty to the roll. If the clone succeeds in killing its original, it
this spell, fills the chest with weapons and magi- can continue with its life normally; but if it fails
cal items, and then later tries to summon it to Eighth Level Magical Spells and does not immediately die, it becomes in-
him, the chest appears—empty. All its contents sane.
stay behind, where the chest originally stood, Clone
since they have not been magically prepared for Range: 10' When a clone goes insane, the original crea-
use with the spell, and since the spell can sum- Duration: Permanent ture permanently loses one point of Intelligence
mon only one prepared object at a time. Effect: Grows one duplicate creature from a and one point of Wisdom. The original may also
thereafter become insane (5% chance per day,
If another being possesses the item summon- piece of the original creature not cumulative). If this occurs, the victim and
ed, it will not appear, but the caster will know the clone die one week later, both forever dead
approximately who and where the possessor is. A clone is an exact duplicate of another living and unrecoverable even with a wish.
creature, grown from a piece of the original
The magic-user may use this spell from any lo- through the use of this spell. The piece need not Special Note: If the original and the clone are
cation, even if the item summoned is on another be alive at the time the spell is cast. kept on different planes of existence, no mind-
plane of existence. link occurs, and the clone is not compelled to kill
A human or demihuman clone is rare and may its original. No ill effects occur, and the two re-
Sword be very dangerous. A clone of any other living main completely unaware of their situation. If
Range: 30' creature is a more common thing called a simula- they ever occupy the same plane, the mind-link
Duration: 1 round per level of the caster crum. A character can have only one clone at a occurs and cannot be broken thereafter except by
Effect: Creates a magical sword time; attempts at making multiple clones of a the destruction of the clone or its original.
single character automatically fail. Undead and
When this spell is cast, a glowing sword made constructs cannot be cloned, because they are Other clones: A clone of any other living crea-
of magic, rather than metal, appears next to the not living creatures. (You could clone someone ture (not a human or demihuman) is called a
caster. The magic-user may cause it to attack any from flesh taken before that person became un- simulacrum. One percent of the original's flesh
creature within 30', simply by concentrating; the dead, but he would not be subject to the effects is needed, and the cost of other materials is 500
sword flies to the target and attacks. If the cast- described below for situations where two exam- gold pieces per hit point of the original. As with
er's concentration is broken, the sword merely ples of the same person exist.) a normal clone, the time required to grow a sim-
stops attacking. It remains in existence for one ulacrum is one week per Hit Die of the original.
round per level of the spellcaster. Human and demihuman clones: To create a
human or demihuman clone, this spell must be A simulacrum always obeys its creator (the
The sword moves very quickly, attacking twice cast on one pound of the person's flesh. This spellcaster). It understands all the languages
per round and making its attack rolls at the cast- spell requires the caster to use up other materials spoken by the caster. Within a range of 10' per
er's level. Damage is the same as a two-handed costing 5,000 gold pieces per Hit Die of the orig- level of the caster, it can receive mental com-
sword (1d10), but this magical creation is capa- inal. The clone awakens only when fully grown; mands if the creator concentrates on sending
ble of hitting any target (even those hit only by this takes one week per Hit Die of the clone. them.
powerful magical weapons). When completed, the clone is not magical and
cannot be dispelled. A simulacrum is an enchanted monster. It can
The sword cannot be destroyed before the du- be blocked by a protection from evil spell and is
ration ends, except by a dispel magic spell effect If the human or demihuman original is not magical; a dispel magic spell can (subject to nor-
alive when the clone awakens, the clone has all mal chances of failure for that spell) cause it to
vanish without a trace.

The simulacrum's alignment is the same as not attack, use spells (or spell-like abilities), or teleport or dimension door spell can bypass it;
that of the spellcaster, regardless of the original flee. While dancing, the victim suffers a — 4 these spells allow the caster to travel into or out
creature's alignment. Its armor class, movement penalty to his saving throws, and a +4 penalty of the field without harming the field. The force
rate, morale, and number of attacks are the same to his armor class. field exists only on one plane of existence. Thus,
as the original's. planar travel (via gate or other means) can also
The duration is three rounds for a caster of bypass it.
A simulacrum has only 50% of the original's 18th to 20th level; four rounds for levels 21-24,
Hit Dice, hit points, and damage per attack. The five rounds at levels 25-28, six rounds at levels Though most often used as a barrier or cage, a
DM rolls dl00 for each special ability; it is present 29-32, and seven rounds at levels 33-36. force field can easily be used to create an invisi-
in the simulacrum if the result is 01-50. However, ble floor, stairway, chair, or other object. A force
a freshly grown simulacrum never has any of the Explosive Cloud field can be made permanent, but the perma-
spells or spell-like abilities of the original. Range: 1' nence spell is still subject to dispel magic, and if
Duration: 6 turns removed, the force field disappears immediately.
If the original creature is alive, the simula- Effect: Creates a moving poisonous cloud Even if treated with a permanence spell, a force
crum does not grow beyond this point. If the field will always vanish if struck by a disintegrate
original creature dies (or is already dead), the This spell creates an effect which looks identi- spell or wished away.
simulacrum continues to increase in abilities, cal to the 5th level cloudkill spell (a 20' tall cloud
gaining an additional 5% per week to a maxi- of greenish gas 30' in diameter appearing next to Mass Charm*
mum of 90% of the original's statistics. When the caster). The cloud is only mildly poisonous; Range: 120'
complete, the DM rolls again to see which spe- all victims within it must make a saving throw vs. Duration: Special (as charm person spell)
cial abilities previously missing are gained, in- spells or be paralyzed that round. Each victim Effect: 30 Levels of creatures
cluding spells and spell-like abilities (using the within the cloud makes a new saving throw each
90% chance for each; all may be present). round. This spell creates the same effect as a charm
person or charm monster spell, except that the
Create Magical Monsters The cloud is filled with sparkling lights (visi- spell affects 30 levels (or Hit Dice) at once. Each
Range: 60' ble only to those within it), which are small ex- victim may make a saving throw vs. spells to
Duration: Two turns plosions. Each round, all those within the cloud avoid the charm, but with a -2 penalty to the
Effect: Creates one or more monsters take damage from the explosions, with no saving roll. The spell will not affect a creature of 31 or
throw allowed. This damage is 1 point for each more levels or Hit Dice.
This spell is similar to the 7th level create nor- two levels of experience of the magic-user,
mal monsters spell, except that it can create rounded down (9 points at 18th or 19th level, 10 The duration of each charm is determined by
monsters with some special abilities (up to two points at 20th or 21st level, etc.). This explosive the victim's Intelligence (see charm person,
asterisks). The range and duration are double damage will affect any creature, including those above). If the magic-user attacks one of the
those of the lesser spell. All other details are the immune to fire, gas, electricity, and other special charmed victims, only that one creature's charm
same: the creatures are chosen by the caster, ap- attacks. is automatically broken. Any other charmed
pear out of thin air, and vanish at the end of the creatures seeing the attack may make another
spell duration. Force Field saving throw, but other creatures' charms are not
Range: 120' affected.
The total number of Hit Dice of monsters ap- Duration: 6 turns
pearing is equal to the level of the magic-user Effect: Creates an invisible barrier The reverse of this spell, remove charm, will
casting the spell (again, dropping fractions if the unfailingly remove all charm effects within a
caster's level is not an exact multiple of the crea- This spell creates an invisible, immovable bar- 20' x 20' x 20' volume. It will also prevent any
tures' Hit Dice). The spell does not create hu- rier or object of pure force. It has almost no object in that area from creating charm effects
mans or demihumans, but can create undead. thickness, but cannot be broken or destroyed by for one turn.
Creatures of 1-1 Hit Die count as 1 Hit Die; crea- any means except a disintegrate spell or a wish;
tures of 1 / 2 Hit Die or less count as 1/2 Hit Die even a dispel magic spell cannot affect it. A force Mind Barrier*
each. field's shape is limited to a sphere, hemisphere, Range: 10'
a flat surface, a cylinder, a square or rectangular Duration: 1 hour per level of the caster
Special Note: This spell can create a construct box with flat sides, or part of such a box. The Effect: Protects against mind-affecting spells and
(as defined in Chapter 14) if the spellcaster uses sphere's radius can be a maximum of 20'. The
the materials normally required for the con- flat surface or combinations thereof may be up items
struct's creation. Only one construct will appear, to 5,000 square feet in total area. The force field
regardless of the caster's Hit Dice; but it is per- cannot be irregular in shape, and its surface must This spell affects one creature; an unwilling
manent, and does not vanish at the end of the be perfectly smooth. It can be as small as the recipient may make a saving throw vs. spells to
spell duration—though it still may be dispelled caster desires. avoid the effect.
at normal chances of success. This construct may
have only two asterisks (special abilities) or less; The force field will not appear within any The spell prevents any form of ESP, clairvoy-
see Chapter 14 for lists of the known types of solid or creature. Any part of it that would do so ance, clairaudience, crystal ball gazing, or any
constructs and the number of special abilities will not appear, leaving a hole in the force other form of mental influence or information
they have. The cost of materials is a minimum of field—normally, a hole large enough for the vic- gathering (such as by a contact higher plane or
5,000 gold pieces per asterisk (or more, depend- tim to escape through. Furthermore, the edges summon object) from working on the target
ing on your campaign). Chapter 16 contains of the field are blunt and cannot cause damage creature. The caster or recipient simply does not
more rules for enchanting magical items (includ- in any way. The force field will stay where it is exist for the purposes of those and similar spell
ing constructs), and has suggestions regarding put until it disappears, and cannot be moved by effects for the duration of the mind barrier spell.
nondispellable constructs. any means but a wish.
In addition, the recipient gains a bonus of +8
Dance Creature(s) completely enclosed by a sealed to saving throws against mind-influencing at-
Range: Touch force field will not starve, suffer from lack of air, tacks, such as all forms of charm, illusion and
Duration: 3 or more rounds or otherwise be harmed by the encasement. A phantasms, feeblemind, and the like. (However,
Effect: Causes 1 victim to dance sealed force field magically preserves any within a roll of 1 always fails the saving throw, regard-
it from natural death. This does not prevent less of adjustments.)
This spell causes one victim to prance madly damage or death from attacks by others within
about, performing a jig or other dance, for 3 or the force field. The reverse of this spell, open mind, causes
more rounds. The magic-user must touch the the victim touched to be vulnerable to all the
victim for the spell to take effect (a normal attack Nothing can pass through a force field. Spells, mind-influencing attacks given above. All the
roll). The victim gets no saving throw, and can- missiles, blows, breath weapons, and all other victim's saving throws against such effects are pe-
attack forms merely bounce off it. However, a nalized by - 8 for the duration of the spell. This
reversed spell must be cast by touch, requiring a
normal attack roll.

Permanence of the caster. If the change is from animal to user spells (high-level thieves with scrolls do not
Range: 10' mineral (or the reverse), it lasts for one turn per count!), may make a saving throw vs. spells ifhe
Duration: Permanent until dispelled level of the caster. If no change in kingdom oc- merely reads or touches (rather than passes) the
Effect: Causes one magical effect to become per- curs (for example, if a creature is polymorphed symbol. If the saving throw is successful, the
into some other creature), the change is perma- symbol has no effect.
manent nent until removed by a dispel magic spell (at
normal chances for success). All symbols look similar to normal writings.
By means of this spell, the magic-user can Six symbols and their effects are given below; the
cause one other magic-user spell effect of 7th Note that creatures created by means of this DM may create others (such as polymorph, tele-
level or less to become permanent. This spell will spell are not automatically friendly. A poly- port, charm, geas, etc.).
not make permanent any spell which has an "in- morph cannot affect a creature's age or hit
stantaneous" or "permanent" duration (such as points. (See the 4th level polymorph self and Death: Slays any creature with 75 hit points or
dispel magic, fireball, lightning bolt, etc.); cleri- polymorph others spells for other guidelines.) less; does not affect a creature with 76 hit points
cal spells and 8th or 9th level magic-user spells or more.
also cannot be made permanent. This spell will not affect a creature which has
more than 2 x the spellcaster's experience levels Discord: The victim attacks allies (if any) or is
The DM can declare that the permanence in Hit Dice. For example, a 20th level magic- otherwise confused (as the 4th level confusion
spell will not work with any other specific spell. user cannot affect a creature with 41 or more Hit spell). The effect is permanent until removed by
Whenever a character wishes to cast the spell, the Dice. a dispel magic spell (at normal chances for suc-
DM should carefully consider whether perma- cess) or by a cleric's cureall spell.
nence will affect the other spell. Certain spell Power Word Blind
combinations could seriously affect a campaign's Range: 120' Fear: The victim immediately runs away from
game balance, and the DM should carefully reg- Duration: 1-4 days or 2-8 hours (see below) the symbol, at his Running Speed, for 30 rounds
ulate all uses of this spell. Effect: Blinds 1 creature with 80 hit points or less (as the wand).

A permanence spell lasts until dispelled by a With this spell, the caster may blind one vic- Insanity: The victim becomes insane, and can-
dispel magic spell from either the caster or some tim within 120' (no saving throw). A victim with not attack, cast spells, or use special abilities or
higher-level spellcaster (at normal chances for 1-40 hit points is blinded for ld4 days; one with items. The victim may walk, but must be care-
success). When the permanence spell is dis- 41-80 hit points is blinded for 2d4 hours. The fully tended or may run away. This effect is per-
pelled, the other spell effect vanishes immedi- spell does not affect creatures with 81 or more hit manent until removed by a dispel magic spell (at
ately. points. normal chances for success) or by a cleric's cureall
spell.
Except for weapons, an item can only receive A blinded victim suffers penalties of — 4 on all
one permanence spell, and a creature can receive saving throws and +4 on armor class. A cleric's Sleep: The victim falls asleep, and cannot be
two at most. If a permanence spell is cast on an cure blindness or cureall spell will not remove awakened. The victim will wake normally in
item or area that already has one in effect (or a this blindness unless the cleric is of a level equal 1d10 + 10 (11-20) hours or if dispel magic is used
creature which already has two, or a weapon to or higher than the caster of the power word to negate it (at normal chances for success).
which already has five), both permanence spells blind.
automatically fail. A weapon may have up to five Stunning: Affects any creature with 150 or
permanent effects, but a 25% (noncumulative) Steelform fewer hit points. The victim is stunned for 2d6
chance of failure applies to each permanence af- Range: Touch turns (as the power word stun spell).
ter the first. Furthermore, if the permanence Duration: Permanent
fails, it destroys the weapon completely. Effect: Creates up to 500 square feet of steel Travel
Range: 0 (caster only)
Some spells used on a creature that are com- This spell is effectively identical to the 7th Duration: One turn per level of the caster
monly made permanent are: detect magic, pro- level ironform spell. However, the material cre- Effect: Allows aerial or gaseous travel
tection from evil, read languages, read magic, ated is of weapon-quality; a swordmaker with
detect invisible, and fly. Some spells commonly this spell could cast the spell and create a finely- This spell allows the magic-user to move
made permanent on areas are light, phantasmal crafted, high-quality sword in 12 turns (two quickly and freely, even between the planes of
force, confusion, and cloudkill. hours) or less. existence. The caster (only) may fly in the same
manner as given by the magic-user's spell, at a
A magic-user does not need a permanence Following the same general guidelines as iron- rate of 360' (120'). The caster can also enter a
spell to make any permanent magical item. Us- form, a steel wall will have an AC of — 10(2) and nearby plane of existence, simply by concentrat-
ing permanence to bind a spell to an object is not about 20 hit points per 1" thickness. ing for one round. He may enter a maximum of
the same as enchanting the object. Enchanted one plane per turn.
objects are more durable and permanent than Symbol
objects which have merely had spells perma- Range: Touch The magic-user may bring one other creature
nently placed upon them. Duration: Permanent for every five levels of experience (rounded
Effect: Creates one magical rune down; for example, a 28th level magic-user
Polymorph any Object could bring five other creatures on the journey).
Range: 240' This spell creates a written magical drawing (a To bring others, he must touch them, or they
Duration: See below "rune") of great power. There are six kinds of must touch him, while the spell is cast and the
Effect: Changes form of one object or creature symbols; the caster must select one when the shift is made. Any unwilling creature can make a
spell is memorized. The rune may be placed on saving throw vs. spells to avoid the effect. The
This spell is similar to the 4th level polymorph an object (such as a door or wall) or placed in caster must take the others with him—he cannot
others spell, except that it will affect objects as mid-air. The rune cannot move; if placed on a send them while remaining behind.
well as creatures. If the object is part of a greater creature or moving object, it will remain at that
whole (such as a section of wall), the spell will point when the surface moves (possibly floating While this spell is in effect, the magic-user
affect up to a 10' x 10' X 10' volume. A creature in mid-air). (only) may assume gaseous form by concentrat-
may avoid the effects if it successfully makes a ing for one full round. (If he is interrupted, no
saving throw vs. spells is made at a -4 penalty to When any living creature passes over or change occurs.) Unlike the potion effect, all
the roll. through the rune, or touches the object on which equipment carried also becomes part of the same
the rune is inscribed, or (foolishly) reads the gaseous cloud. In this form, the caster may travel
The duration of the polymorph depends on rune, the rune's effect takes place immediately at double the normal flying rate: 720' (240').
the degree of the change. There are three basic (no saving throw). While gaseous, the magic-user cannot use items
kingdoms of all things—animal, vegetable, and or cast spells, but also cannot be damaged except
mineral. If an object is polymorphed to one of a There is one exception: a magic-user, and any by magic (weapons or certain spells). Also, a gas-
nearby kingdom (animal-vegetable, vegetable- other creature which can normally cast magic- eous being cannot pass through a protection
mineral) the spell's duration is one hour per level from evil spell effect or an anti-magic shell.

Ninth Level Magical Spells vanish at the end of the spell duration. (How- Immunity
ever, a dispel magic spell, with normal chances Range: Touch (one creature)
Contingency of success, can destroy this type of construct.) Duration: One turn per level of the caster
Range: Touch Effect: Bestows immunity or resistance to some
Duration: Indefinite (see below) As with the 8th level spell, the cost of materi-
Effect: Prepares one other spell als required to create a construct is a minimum spells and weapons
of 5,000 gold pieces per asterisk (or more, de-
This powerful spell acts as a trigger for one pending on your campaign). If the construct has This spell gives the recipient total immunity
stated magic-user spell; this second spell must be four or more asterisks (such as a drolem), the cost to all 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd level spells. Further-
of 4th level or less that does not normally cause is doubled (or more; ask your DM). Chapter 16 more, 4th- and 5th level spells have only half
damage. contains more rules for enchanting magical normal effect, or one-quarter normal if the vic-
items (including constructs), and has suggestions tim makes a successful saving throw. Any spell
While casting a contingency spell, the magic- regarding nondispellable constructs. effect that is quantifiable is reduced in effect;
user must describe one situation and the spell these effects include reductions in duration, bo-
which is contingent upon it. When that situa- Created monsters of all types can be blocked nuses, penalties, damage, etc. Round fractions
tion next occurs, the contingent spell effect trig- by a protection from evil or anti-magic shell spell off in the recipient's favor.
gers automatically and immediately, as if cast at effect.
that time. The recipient is also completely immune to all
Gate* missiles (normal or magical), as well as normal
Examples of proper use: Range: 30' and silver weapons; he takes half damage from
"When I am touched or struck by any living Duration: 1d10 x 10(l-l00) turns or 1 turn magical hand-held weapons. This applies only to
creature that is not a Lawful or Neutral cleric, ex- Effect: Opens a portal to another plane weapons; claws, bites, breath weapons, and oth-
cept for my friends Charlie McGonigle and Sally er natural attack forms are not blocked.
Silvernose (contingency), then cast charm mon- When the magic-user casts this spell, he must
ster on the creature touching or striking me name one target: the Ethereal Plane, the Astral By concentrating, the recipient can drop the
(spell)." Plane, one of the four elemental planes, or one protection, allowing spells (such as cure wounds)
"When I have eight hit points or less and am outer plane. He must also name a resident of to have normal effects for that round. If
about to be damaged (contingency), then cast that plane, usually that of an Immortal, a ruler dropped, the immunity is absent for one round
dimension door on myself to take me to a desti- of the plane. The spell opens a direct connection (including the protection from weapons), but re-
nation one inch above ground level directly up- to the other plane of existence. turns automatically at the end of the round.
ward; or, if that is greater than 360' away, to the
furthest unoccupied area within range that I A gate to an outer plane remains open for only A carefully worded wish spell can extend this
have seen within the 12 hour period prior to the one turn. Any other gate remains open for protection, giving immunity to 4th level spells
existence of this contingency (spell effect)." 1d10 x 10 (1-100) turns, and there is a 10% and + 1 weapons, and half normal effect from
No item or creature can have more than one chance per turn that some other-planar creature 5th and 6th level spells. No further improve-
contingency spell cast on it; not even a wish can will wander through the gate while it is open. ments are possible.
allow multiple applications. The contingency
described can be as detailed or as simple as de- A gate to an elemental plane actually creates a Maze
sired, but is somewhat limited in effect: It must vortex and a wormhole, and a wish may be used Range: 60'
pertain to something within 120' of the trigger- to make them permanent. Planes, vortexes, and Duration: See below (1d6 turns, 2d20 rounds,
ing event. A contingency based on a far-off oc- wormholes are described in Chapter 18.
currence is beyond the spell's capacity. The 2d4 rounds, or ld4 rounds)
target and effect of the secondary spell must al- Contact with an outer plane is dangerous, and Effect: Traps one creature
ways be specified, and if any necessary details are the magic-user must know and speak the name
lacking, the secondary spell does not occur. of the Immortal he wishes to contact. The Im- This spell creates an indestructible maze in
A contingency spell effect has no maximum mortal he calls will probably (95 % chance) arrive the Astral Plane and places one victim into the
duration. It may remain for centuries before the in 1d6 rounds, but there is a 5% chance that maze (he gets no saving throw). The intelligence
situation described comes to pass. some other being from the outer planes will re- of the victim determines the time he needs to es-
spond. When the being arrives, it immediately cape the maze.
Create Any Monster looks for the spellcaster.
Range: 90' Maze Duration Time Required
Duration: 3 turns If the caster does not have an excellent reason To Escape
Effect: Creates one or more monsters for opening the gate, the being will probably de- Victim's 1d6( 1-6) turns
stroy the caster. Even if the caster provides an ex- Intelligence 2d20 (2-40) rounds
This spell is similar to the 7th level spell create cellent reason, the being may merely leave Non- to Low (1-8) 2d4 (2-8) rounds
normal monsters and the 8th level spell create immediately, showing no interest. If the reason Average (9-12) 1d4 (1-4) rounds
magical monsters, but with fewer limitations on is of supreme importance to the magic-user and High (13-17)
the types of creatures appearing. of some interest to the being (DM's discretion), Genius (18 + )
it may actually help for a short time.
The range and duration are triple those of the When he escapes the maze, the victim returns
7th level version. The spell cannot create hu- The reverse of this spell, close gate, will close a to the exact place from which he originally disap-
mans and demihumans, but can create any other gate created by normal form of the spell. It can peared.
creature, regardless of the number of special also be used to close a permanent gate to a near-
abilities (asterisks). However, if the caster wants by plane (such as an elemental vortex). But the Meteor Swarm
to create a creature with three or more asterisks, spell cannot affect an Immortal; it cannot, for Range: 240'
the caster must have carefully studied one (either instance, make him leave if he chooses to stay. Duration: Instantaneous
alive or dead) for at least one hour to be able to Effect: Creates four or eight meteor-fireballs
create another with this spell. As with the lesser Heal
spells, the maximum number of Hit Dice of Range: Touch (one creature) This spell creates either 4 or 8 meteors (at the
creatures is equal to the level of the caster. Duration: Permanent caster's choice). Each meteor can be aimed at a
Effect: Cures anything different target within range, but only one me-
To create a construct (as described in Chapter teor can be aimed at any one creature. Each me-
14), the caster must obtain the proper materials This spell's effect is identical to that of the 6th teor slams into its target and explodes like a
necessary to create the construct. The spell will level cleric spell cureall. When used to cure fireball (affecting all creatures within a 20' radi-
create only one construct, regardless of the cast- wounds, it cures nearly all of the damage, leav- us).
er's Hit Dice; but it is permanent, and does not ing only 1d6 points of damage remaining. It can
instead remove a curse, neutralize a poison, cure If the caster creates four meteors, each strikes
a disease, cure blindness, or even remove a for 8d6 (8-48) points of damage and then ex-
feeblemind effect. plodes for 8d6 (8-48) points of fire damage. If

the caster creates eight smaller meteors, each cluding the caster of the prismatic wall) will not Except for these limits, the caster can become
strikes for 4d6 (4-24) points and then explodes be able to pass through the wall, but the attempt any creature or object that he or she has ever
for 4d6 more points of fire damage. Note that if will not damage either the anti-magic shell or seen. He cannot change into imaginary or unfa-
the meteors are aimed accurately, a victim or area the prismatic wall. miliar creatures; unless there are ten-armed trolls
might find itself within overlapping blasts and in your campaign, for example, he cannot turn
thus take explosion damage multiple times. The prismatic wall extends into the nearest into one. The caster may change shape at will
plane of existence (the Ethereal Plane, if cast on during the spell's duration; each change requires
The player rolls damage for each strike and the Prime Plane), appearing there as an inde- a full round of concentration.
blast separately. A meteor never misses its target. structible solid wall. Planar and dimensional
travel can therefore not bypass it. Note that the caster does assume the flaws of
Any victim struck by a meteor takes full the new form as well as its strengths. If, for ex-
"strike" damage (no saving throw). Each victim The colors and effects of a prismatic wall are ample, the caster is struck by a sword +2, +5 vs.
within a blast radius may make a saving throw always the same; when created, the violet side is dragons while in dragon form, the + 5 bonus ap-
vs. spells to take only half of the given blast dam- always closest to the caster. The effects and colors plies against his new form.
age. Even fire-resistant and fire-using creatures of the prismatic wall are summarized below.
are fully affected by strikes from a meteor This spell effect cannot be made permanent and
swarm, although they might be resistant to the Shapechange is subject to dispel magic. During the spell dura-
fiery explosions. A separate saving throw must Range: 0 (caster only) tion, the caster cannot pass through any protection
be made for each blast the character contacts. Duration: One turn per level of the caster from evil or anti-magic shell spell effect.
Effect: Caster may change form
Power Word Kill Survival
Range: 120' This spell is similar to the 4th level polymorph Range: Touch
Duration: Instantaneous self spell, but is far more powerful. The caster Duration: One hour per level of the caster
Effect: Slays or stuns one or more creatures actually becomes another creature or object in all Effect: Protects one creature against all non-
respects except the mind, hit points, and saving
This spell enables the caster to affect one or throws. The caster takes his new armor class, at- magical environmental damage
more victims within 120' (no saving throw). Ex- tack rolls, special attack forms, immunities, and
ception: A magic-user, and any creature which all other details from the form he has taken. This spell protects the recipient from adverse
can cast magic-user spells, may make a saving conditions of all types, including normal heat or
throw vs. spells to avoid this effect, with a — 4 A magic-user cannot cast spells in any form ex- cold, lack of air, and so forth. While the spell is in
penalty to the roll. cept that of a bipedal humanoid (demihuman, effect, the caster needs no air, food, water, or sleep.
goblin, ogre, giant, etc.). The caster cannot take The spell does not protect against magical damage
A single victim with 1-60 hit points is auto- a completely unique form (such as that of a spe- of any type, attack damage, poisons, breath weap-
matically slain; one with 61-100 hit points is cific character, Elemental Ruler, or Immortal). ons, or physical blows from creatures. It does pro-
stunned (as power word stun) and unable to act He can gain the likeness but not the abilities of tect against all damage caused by natural
for 1d4 turns. No creature with 101 or more hit another character class. When wearing another conditions on other planes of existence.
points is affected. form, he can only cast spells from his own mem-
ory; he can't cast from scrolls or his spell book. For example, a cleric might use this spell: in a
The spell can also be used to slay up to five He cannot assume huge inanimate forms; if he desert or blizzard to prevent damage from the nat-
victims if each has 20 hit points or less (again, no tries to, the form will be a maximum of one foot ural conditions; underground or underwater, ena-
saving throw). tall per experience level of the caster and 100 cn bling survival without air; in space, to magically
weight per level. survive in vacuum; or on the elemental plane of
Prismatic Wall Fire, to protect against conditional fire damage.
Range: 60'
Duration: 6 turns Prismatic Wall Effects Negated By
Effect: Creates a multi-colored barrier Color Any magical cold
Red Effect Any magical lightning
This spell creates a barrier of many colors with Orange Blocks all magical missiles; Magic missile spell
a glittering appearance as if from light shining Yellow inflicts 12 points of damage Passwall spell
through a prism. This wall is 2" thick, with 1/8" Green (no saving throw allowed)
between the colors. The effect must be either a Blocks all nonmagical missiles; Disintegrate spell
sphere with a radius of 10', centered on the cast- Blue inflicts 24 points of damage
er, or a flat surface (vertical or horizontal) of up (no saving throw allowed) Dispel magic spell
to 500 square feet in area. Indigo Blocks all breath weapons;
inflicts 48 points of damage Continual light spell
Whatever its form, the prismatic wall cannot Violet (no saving throw allowed)
be moved (even by a wish). The caster may pass Blocks all detection spells
through it freely and unharmed, with any items (crystal balls, ESP, etc.);
he chooses to carry. All other creatures and ob- anyone touching it must make a
jects contacting or passing through the prismatic saving throw vs. poison or die
wall are affected by its magic, starting with the Blocks all poisons, gases, and
first color they contact. gaze attacks; anyone touching it
must make a saving throw vs.
It takes powerful magic to break through the turn to stone or be petrified
wall. A wish spell or a rod ofcancellation will re- Blocks all matter; anyone
move the three outermost remaining colors, but touching it must make a saving
that's all. throw vs. spells or be
gated to a random
To break through a prismatic wall, an attacker outer plane, and possibly (50%)
must attack it with a specific sequence of spells. lost forever
Each spell will cancel one color of the prismatic Blocks magic of all types; anyone
wall. These remedy spells, shown on the chart touching it must make a saving
below, must be cast in the correct order (first, throw vs. wands or be struck
any magical cold to remove the red layer; then, unconscious and insane (curable
any magical lightning to remove the orange lay- only by a cureall spell
er; and so on). When cast successfully, each spell or a wish)
causes the appropriate color to disappear from
the wall. When all layers are gone, so is the wall.

A person with an active anti-magic shell (in-

Timestop able to use these high-level spells are already Important Note: Whenever an effect is de-
Range: 0 (caster only) quite powerful. This wish could result in the scribed as being unchangeable "even with a
Duration: 2-5 rounds character growing a basilisk head in addition to wish," that statement supersedes all others here.
Effect: Allows caster to act for 1d4 + l (2-5) the character's own head.
Wishes can cause great problems if not han-
rounds while everything else "stops" A wish cannot be used to gain either experi- dled properly. The DM must see that wishes are
ence points or levels of experience. reasonably limited or the balance and enjoyment
To the caster, this spell seems to stop time. It of the game will be completely upset. The DM
speeds the caster so greatly that all other crea- Possible Effects: A properly worded wish can should not allow wishes that alter the basics of
tures seem frozen at their Normal Speeds, in substitute for any other magical spell of 8th level the game (such as a wish that dragons can't
"normal time." From the caster's point of view, or less, or any clerical or druidic spell of 6th level breathe for damage). The more unreasonable
the effect lasts for 1d4 + 1 (2-5) rounds. The cast- or less, at the DM's discretion. This common use and greedy the wish is, the less likely that the
er may perform one action during each of these of a wish is more likely to succeed with little wish will become reality.
magical rounds. chance for error than other uses of the spell.
Otherwise, if the wish is used to harm another
Normal and magical fire, cold, gas, etc. can creature, the victim may make a saving throw vs.
still harm the caster. While the timestop is in ef- spells. If the save is successful, the victim takes
fect, however, other creatures are invulnerable to half the ill effects and the other half rebounds on
the caster's attacks and spells. Spells with dura- the caster (who may also save to avoid it, but
tions other than "instantaneous" may be cre- with a — 4 penalty to the roll). If the wish will
ated and left to take effect when time resumes. inconvenience someone without harming him
Note that no time elapses while this spell is in (for example, by causing him to teleport into a
effect; durations of other spells cast start after prison cell), the victim gets no saving throw.
the timestop ends.
A character can use a wish to gain treasure, up
The spellcaster cannot move items held by to a maximum of 50,000 gold pieces per wish.
those in "normal time," but can move other However, the caster loses 1 experience point per
items that are not "stuck," including those worn gold piece value of treasure gained, and this loss
or carried by others. The caster is completely un- cannot be magically restored.
detectable by those in "normal time." However,
the magic-user cannot pass through a protection The magic-user can use a wish to temporarily
from evil or anti-magic shell while under this change any one ability score to a minimum of 3
spell's effect. or maximum of 18. This effect lasts for only six
turns.
Wish
Range: Special Wishes can also be used to permanently in-
Duration: Special crease ability scores, but the cost is very high:
Effect: Special You must cast as many wishes as the number of
the ability score desired. All the wishes must be
A wish is the single most powerful spell a cast within a one-week period.
magic-user can have. It is never found on a
scroll, but may be placed elsewhere (in a ring, You may raise an ability score only one point
for example) in rare cases. Only magic-users of at a time. To raise your Strength from 15 to 16
36th level and with an 18 (or greater) Wisdom takes 16 wishes. To then raise it to 17 will take an
score may cast the wish spell. additional 17 wishes. Wishes cannot perma-
nently lower ability scores.
Wording the Wish: The player must say or
write the exact wish his character makes. The A wish cannot raise the maximum experience
wording is very important. The wish will usually level for human characters; 36th level is an abso-
follow the literal wording, and whatever the in- lute limit. However, one wish can allow demi-
tentions of the magic-user. humans to gain one additional Hit Die (for a
new maximum of 9 for halflings, 11 for elves,
The DM should try to maintain game balance, and 13 for dwarves). This affects only hit points,
being neither too generous nor too stingy in de- and does not change any other scores (such as at-
ciding the effects of a wish. Even a badly phrased tack rolls, elves' number of spells, etc.).
wish, made with good intentions, may have
good results. However, if the wish is greedy, or A wish can change a demihuman to a human,
made with malicious intent, the DM should or the reverse. Such a change is permanent, and
make every effort to distort the results of the the recipient does not become magical. Half-
spell so that the caster does not profit from it. If lings and dwarves become fighters of the same
necessary, the DM can even disallow the wish; it level. Elves become magic-users or fighters (but
would then have no effect. Whenever a wish fails not both), at the choice of the caster of the wish.
or is misinterpreted, the DM should explain (af- The changed character would then gain levels of
ter the game) the problem or flaw in the phras- experience normally. A human changes to the
ing. same level demihuman, but no higher than the
normal racial maximum.
Here are some examples of faulty wishes:
"I wish that I knew everything about this If one character casts a wish to change an-
dungeon" could result in the character knowing other's character class, the victim (at his option)
all for only a second, and then forgetting it. may make a saving throw vs. spells with a +5
"I wish for a million gold pieces" can be bonus to resist the change.
granted by having them land on the character
(that's 100,000 pounds of gold!), and then van- A wish can sometimes change the results of a
ish. past occurrence. This is normally limited to
"I wish to immediately and permanently pos- events of the previous day. A lost battle may be
sess the gaze power of a basilisk while retaining won, or the losses may be made far less severe,
all of my own abilities and items" is a carefully but impossible odds cannot be overcome com-
worded wish that's out of balance. Characters pletely. A death could be changed to a near-
death survival; a permanent loss could be made
temporary. The DM may wish to advise players
when their wishes exceed the limit of the spell's
power (or his patience).

haracters who throw themselves into dan- Weapons Table Damage Range Cost Enc
gerous situations tend to survive a lot longer Item S/M/L (gp) (cn) Notes
if they have the right tools and equipment for
each situation. In this chapter, we list most of Ammunition: 7 60 r,2H,M
the normal equipment characters will need in a See Ammunition Table 4 30 t,S
game.
Axes: 1d8 10/20/30 25 20 a,m,2H,M
Money Axe, Battle 1d6 40 30 a,m,2H,L
Axe, Hand 50/100/150 30 50 a,m,s,2H,M
Some quick notes on money in the D&D® Bows: 1d6 70/140/210 50 80 a,m,s,2H,L
game: Bow, Short 1d6 60/120/180
Bow, Long 1d6 80/160/240 5 5 c,r,s,S
Starting Gold: Beginning characters receive a Crossbow, Lt 2d4 3 50 c,r,M
one-time sum of 3d6 x 10 gold pieces. This rep- Crossbow, Hvy 4 25 c,t,M
resents money saved up by the character before 5 50 c,r,M
he embarked on his adventuring career, or Bludgeons: 1d2 10/20/30 5 30 c,r,M
money given to him by his family before he left Blackjack 1d4 5 40 c,r,w,2H,M
home. It should be spent on weapons, armor, Club 1d4
and equipment; the DM may have recommen- Hammer, Throwing 1d6 20 c,r,S
dations as to what the characters should buy. Hammer, War 1d6
When first created, the character also can be as- Mace 1d6 3 10 t,w,S
sumed to own two or three sets of plain clothes, a Staff 1d4 30 10 t,w,S
pair of shoes, a belt, and a belt-pouch. Torch
7 150 s,2H,L
Abbreviations: The game commonly uses the Daggers: 1d4 10/20/30 1 20 t,M
following abbreviations. Normal 1d4 10/20/30 10 180 s,v,L
Silver 3 80 s,v,2H,L
platinum pieces = pp 7 150 s,2H,L
gold pieces = gp Pole Weapons: 5 120 s,2H,L
electrum pieces = ep 3 30 t,v,L
silver pieces = sp Halberd 1dl0 5 25 s,t,M
copper pieces = cp
Conversions: You can convert money from one Javelin 1d6 30/60/90 15 20 s,S
type to another using the following values. Lance 65 70 s,S
1 sp = 10 cp 1dl0 200 185 s,v,M
1 ep = 5 sp = 50 cp Pike 1dl0 200 275 s,2H,L
1 gp = 2 ep = 10 sp = 100 cp Polearm
1 pp = 5 gp = 10 ep = 50 sp = 500 cp 1dl0 7 30 r,S
10 60 r,M
Weapons Poleaxe 1dl0
15 80 r,HH,L
Most characters will want to carry one or more Spear 1d6 20/40/60 15 80 r,2H,L
reliable weapons. The Weapons Table shows the Trident 15 100 2H,L
weapons available in the D&D game. Some of 1d6 10/20/30
these weapons have special effects that are Some 3 6 a,m,s,w,S
of the weapons in the table will look very similar Shield Weapons: 1d2 6 15 a,m,s,w,2H,M
to one another. But these weapons often demon- Shield, Horned 1d4 + l 5 5 s,t,M
strate substantial differences if you also use the Shield, Knife 5 10 s,S
optional weapon mastery rules described in the Shield, Sword ld4+2 25 1 c,s,t,w,S
next chapter. Shield, Tusked 1d4 + l n n s,t,w,M or L
2 10 c,s,t,w,S
Weapon information in the table is defined as Swords: 1d6
follows: Short 1d8 10 c,t,w,S
Normal 2 20 c,m,w,S
• Item gives the weapon's name. Bastard 1d6+l 1/ft 10/ft s,w,M
• Damage shows the amount of damage the 1d8 + l
One-Handed 1dl0
weapon does; if the column shows "1d6," Two-Handed
for instance, you'd roll 1d6, for a result of 1 Two-Handed
to 6 points of damage whenever you hit
with that weapon. Other Weapons: Nil 10/20/30
• Range shows the range characteristics of the Nil 20/25/30
weapon if it fires projectiles or can be Blowgun, up to 2' 20/40/60
thrown. A number like "60/120/180," for Blowgun, 2' + 1d2
example, means that the weapon is at short Bola 10/30/50
range (for the indicated +1 to attack roll Cestus 1d3 10/20/30
modifier) from 1' to 60'; it is at medium Holy Water 1d8 10/30/50
range (for no attack roll modifier) from 61' Net Nil 10/30/50
to 120'; and it is at long range (for a - 1 to 1d8 40/80/160
attack roll modifier) from 121' to 180'. Be- Oil, Burning 1d3
yond 180', it cannot hit a target. These dis- Rock, Thrown 1d4
tances are measured as feet indoors and as 1d2
yards outdoors; for example, a crossbow Sling
that can fire 180' inside a dungeon can Whip
launch its quarrel 180 yards outside.
• Cost (gp) shows how much it costs to buy (For explanations of Notes, see the next page.)
the weapon in gold pieces (gp).

Weapon Special Effects Table nary missiles, except that their arrowheads are
made of silver, which is useful when fighting cer-
Victim's Bonus to Failed Saving Throw Results* tain monsters. Such arrows are comparatively ex-
Level or Saving Bola, Net, pensive and are usually sold by the arrow, rather
Hit Dice Throw Blackjack or Whip Blowgun than in batches of 20 or 30. Likewise, silver pel-
Up to 1 None lets are made for slings.
1 +1 to 3 Knockout Entangle By poison
3 + 1 to 6 +1 Arrow and quarrel costs include the price of a
6 +1 to 9 +2 Knockout Entangle By poison cheap quiver or case, both of which carry a stand-
9 + 1 to 12 Stun Slow By poison ard load of ammunition.
12 + or more +3 Stun Slow By poison
+4 Delay Delay By poison Weapon Descriptions
+5 Delay
Delay By poison The weapons from the Weapons Table are de-
scribed here. They are listed in alphabetical or-
* The effects of successful saving throws are explained in each weapon's description. der for convenience.

Ammunition Table Axe, Battle: This is a large one- or two-bladed
chopping head fixed upon a long (3'-5') wooden
Standard Enc shaft. This is a two-handed weapon; the wielder
Load (# of Cost (# of shots of the weapon may not use a shield and always
Weapon Type of Shots) (gp) per cn) loses individual initiative to characters not using
Blowgun Ammunition 5 15 a two-handed weapon. Halflings and small non-
Bow Dart 20 5 2 humans such as goblins cannot use this weapon.
Crossbow Arrow 1 52
Sling Silver-tipped arrow 30 10 Axe, Hand: This is a small chopping blade
Quarrel 3 (usually only one blade) affixed to a small (l'-2')
Silver-tipped quarrel 1 53 wooden shaft. It is a one-handed weapon and
Stone or lead pellet 30 1 5 may be thrown.
Silver pellet 1 55
Bastard Sword: See Sword, Bastard (below).
' Enc (cn) shows how much encumbrance the Ammunition
weapon has, measured in coin-weights (cn). Battle Axe: See Axe, Battle (above).
One coin weighs one-tenth of a pound. Re- Missile weapons such as bows eventually run
member that the more encumbrance a char- out of ammunition; here's what it costs to buy Blackjack: This weapon is a small leather sack,
acter is carrying, the slower he moves. additional ammunition. 4"-8" long, filled with sand or metal shot and
* Notes refers you to the description section with a looped strap attached. It causes little
that describes weapon characteristics. Some- These figures apply for any type of weapon damage (1d2 points) but, if it is used to strike a
times a weapon that looks unimpressive on that goes by the name shown. Arrows cost the victim's head or neck, it can possibly stun or
the chart will have special features listed in same, come in the same standard loads, and cause unconsciousness.
the Notes column, and those special fea- have the same encumbrance for a short bow as
tures might make them very useful weapons for a long bow; darts for a short blowgun are This weapon has no effect on a victim wearing
indeed. identical to those for a long blowgun. a metal helmet (which is included in any set of
plate, banded, chain, or scale mail) or on any
Silver-tipped arrows and quarrels are like ordi- unarmored monster of armor class 0 or less
(which indicates very tough skin or protective
plating).

The DM decides whether or not someone us-
ing a blackjack can hit his target's head. The DM
might decide, for example, that someone who
has sneaked up on a completely unsuspecting
target can aim at the target's head with no penal-
ty, or that the character, in combat, can aim at
the enemy's head by taking a - 4 penalty to the
attack roll. Also at the DM's discretion, if the
target is so much taller than the attacker that the
attacker can't reach his head, then the attack can
only inflict normal damage.

If the attack does hit the target's head, consult
the Weapon Special Effects Table. The victim
must make a saving throw vs. death ray (possibly
with a bonus; see the table). If he fails the saving
throw, he suffers the additional effects shown on
the table, as determined by his Hit Dice. These
effects are as follows:

Knockout: The victim is immediately uncon-
scious and remains helpless for dl00 (d%)
rounds.

Stun: The victim is stunned and will remain
stunned until he successfully makes a saving
throw vs. death ray. He may try to make a new
saving throw each round.

Delay: The victim is mildly dazed; he loses
initiative on the next round.

Blowgun: This weapon is a tube, 6"-4' long. ual initiative for the next round. Halberd: See Polearms, Halberd (below).
The user places a small dart or thorn into it, aims This weapon can only affect solid creatures.
the tube at a target, and blows air into it— Hammer, Throwing: This is a short-shafted,
forcing the dart to fly toward the target. Wraiths, spectres, ethereal creatures, and mon- broad-headed hammer, capable of crushing
sters made of water (such as a water elemental) blows. It is balanced for throwing.
The darts cause no damage themselves. How- cannot be affected.
ever, the darts are usually treated with poison. A Hammer, War: This weapon consists of a
blowgun dart merely scratches the victim, with Bolas are awkward to carry and may become broad hammer head—sometimes with two strik-
little penetration; it inflicts no real damage. If tangled. For each additional bola carried, the en- ing ends instead of just one—on a medium-
hit, the victim must make a saving throw vs. poi- cumbrance of the bolas triples: 1 bola = 5 en, 2 length (about 3') wooden shaft.
son or suffer the effects. Depending on the size bolas = 15 en, 3 bolas = 45 en, etc.
or level of experience of the victim, he may gain Hand Axe: See Axe, Hand (above).
a bonus to the saving throw (see the Weapon Bow, Long: This is a piece of wood bent into a
Special Effects Table). No undead creature or curve, with a taut string holding it in that posi- Heavy Crossbow: See Crossbow, Heavy
any creature immune to poison can be harmed tion; it is used to launch arrows. (above).
by a blowgun.
This bow is a two-handed weapon; the wielder Holy Water: This is water that has been pre-
The use of deadly poison as a weapon is not a of the weapon may not use a shield and always pared by a special cleric (who must be at least 9th
good act. Because of its dangers, poison may be loses individual initiative to characters not using level or above). It is normally placed into a
declared illegal by local or regional rulers. In this a two-handed weapon. Halflings and small races breakable bottle or gourd and then hurled at a
case, Lawful characters do not typically use it. such as goblins cannot use this weapon. target; if it strikes the target, the container
The DM may choose not to allow player charac- smashes and the target is splashed.
ters to use poisons in his campaign. Warn players Bow, Short: This bow is similar to the long
that, if they want their characters to use blow- bow, but it is smaller and not able to fire arrows Holy water only does the listed damage to un-
guns, monsters will have them as well. as far. It, too, is a two-handed weapon, but it can dead monsters; all other characters and monsters
be used by halfling characters and small races are unaffected by it (except for being damp-
Longer blowguns are two-handed weapons; such as goblins. ened).
the wielder of the weapon may not use a shield
and always loses individual initiative to charac- Cestus: The cestus (plural: cesti) is a sort of If you are using the optional Weapon Mastery
ters not using a two-handed weapon. Halflings glove or thong wrapped around the hand; it has rules (in the next chapter), all characters have
and small nonhumans such as goblins cannot use rough, cutting edges on the back, so that a Basic mastery level when using holy water.
this weapon. punching attack will inflict more damage on an
opponent. If the campaign uses the optional Horned Shield: See Shield Weapons, Horned
Bola: This weapon is a cord with weighted rules for two-weapons use, a character does not Shield (below).
balls on the ends. It is whirled around and suffer the — 4 penalty for the cestus worn on his
thrown at a victim. It causes very little damage offhand. Javelin: This weapon is a thrusting point atop
itself (1d2 points), but may entangle, slow, or a light, long (4'-6') pole. Characters can throw it
delay the victim. Club: This is a simple, blunt piece of wood at targets or use it in hand-to-hand combat; in
used to batter opponents. hand-to-hand, they can use it with one hand,
If the attack roll is a 20 (not counting any keeping the other hand free for a shield or weap-
modifiers), the victim must make a saving throw Crossbow, Heavy: This is a missile weapon on. Halflings (and small races such as goblins)
vs. death ray or be immediately paralyzed; he consisting of a tough bow (like a small bow, but can use this weapon.
will die in ld6 + 2 (3-8) rounds from strangling smaller and sometimes made of metal) laid cross-
unless rescued. If freed, the victim remains ef- wise across a stock with a trigger. It fires stubby Knife Shield: See Shield Weapons, Knife
fectively paralyzed for 2d6 (2-12) rounds. Crea- arrows called quarrels. Shield (below).
tures that do not breathe (such as constructs) are
immune to this effect. Heavy crossbows are bulky, requiring two Lance: When in combat on horseback, many
hands to use, and are slow to reload. A character fighters use a special long spear called a lance.
If the attack roll is successful but not a 20, the with 18 strength can draw back the string with Fighters, dwarves, and elves can use the Lance At-
victim must make a saving throw vs. death ray, one hand and fire every round, but weaker char- tack maneuver (see Chapter 8). Mystics can use
possibly with a bonus (see the Weapon Special acters must point the crossbow nose-down on the lances, though they do not have the Lance Attack
Effects Table). If the saving throw is successful, ground, brace it with one foot, and draw back combat maneuver; even when on the back of a
the attack has no effect except damage. If the the string with both hands in order to reload it; charging horse, mystics always thrust with the
victim fails the saving throw, the result varies by they can only fire it once every two rounds. weapon as though fighting with a spear. Other
the victim's experience level or size (see the human classes cannot use a lance effectively.
Weapon Special Effects Table). This crossbow is a two-handed weapon; the
wielder of the weapon may not use a shield and A character with a lance may still use a shield;
The victim may try to make a new saving always loses individual initiative to characters however, if you are using the optional Weapon
throw during the hand-to-hand combat phase of not using a two-handed weapon. Halflings and Mastery rules (in the next chapter), a character
each round until one is successful; this indicates small nonhumans such as goblins cannot use this who is at Basic mastery with the lance cannot yet
that the victim has removed the bola. If another weapon. use a shield. Under the Weapon Mastery rules, a
character tries to remove the bola that has struck lance can be used to gain a defense bonus, but
a victim, the victim rolls his own saving throw vs. Crossbow, Light: This weapon is similar to the each round a lance is used to defend, it causes
death ray, with a +2 bonus. When the victim heavy crossbow, but smaller. It also requires two only half damage.
makes the saving throw, the bola is removed. hands to load, but only one to fire.
The victim may spend 1 round destroying the If the wielder of the lance has the Multiple At-
bola if he has an edged weapon and chooses to This crossbow is a two-handed weapon; the tacks option, he can indeed make multiple at-
destroy it. Otherwise, the bola is undamaged; he wielder of the weapon may not use a shield and tacks, but not all against the same foe. He must !
can hold on to it or drop it. always loses individual initiative to characters make each attack against a different target, tak-
not using a two-handed weapon. Halfling char- ing them in the course of his lance charge.
Possible bola effects, as listed on the Weapon acters and small races such as goblins cannot use
Special Effects Table, are as follows: this weapon. A lance used from the back of a flying mount
can be used normally. If the wielder needs to re-
Entangle: The victim cannot attack, cast Dagger: This is a small blade with a one- lease the lance and ties it to his saddle so that it I
spells, or move until his saving throw is success- handed grip. It may be used in hand-to-hand will not drop to the ground, he cannot defend 1
fully made. combat or thrown. Some expensive varieties are with it.
made out of silver for use against certain magical
Slow: The victim is slowed, moving and at- creatures.
tacking at half his normal rate; he cannot cast
spells.

Delay: The victim automatically loses individ-

Light Crossbow: See Crossbow, Light (above). A net can easily be damaged by any edged Weapons Table. They have individual entries be-
weapon (or claw or bite), but it can be repaired if cause each has certain characteristics that distin-
Long Bow: See Bow, Long (above). rope or cord is available, which requires 1d3 guish it from the others when using the Weapon
turns of undisturbed repair work. A damaged Mastery rules. The variations are as follows:
Mace: This is a heavy striking head attached to net is useless.
a short- or medium-length wooden shaft. Halberd: This weapon is both a thrusting and
Nets come in a variety of sizes; if the target is a chopping weapon. It has a broad axehead with
Net: A net is an open mesh of rope or cord. too large for the net, he will gain bonuses to his a spike on the top and a hook on the back.
Small nets (up to 10' x 10') are commonly used saving throw to avoid the effects. Using the Nets
in hunting and adventuring and can be used as Table, determine how many sizes the victim is Pike: This thrusting weapon (essentially an
either a hand-to-hand or thrown weapon. The larger than the net. For each size greater, the vic- extra-long spear) has a short, sharp spearhead on
net's encumbrance varies by the size. tim gains a +4 bonus. A roll of 1 is always a fail- the end of a very long pole (12-18').
ure unless the bonus is + 20 or greater.
This weapon is commonly available in most Poleaxe: This chopping weapon has a small
campaign worlds. Its cost is low, but it is easily Nets 6' x 6' or smaller may be used one- axehead attached to a pole of varying length (5-
damaged. The net is one of humankind's first handed. Larger nets require two hands and suf- 15'). It is essentially an extra-long battle axe.
tools, having been invented in prehistoric times, fer the same penalties as other two-handed
and it is used by most humanoid monsters for weapons. The wielder may not use a shield, al- Polearm: All other polearms use this line on
both hunting and defense. ways loses individual initiative to characters not the Weapons Table. A character using a polearm
using a two-handed weapon; and halflings and can say that it is a generic polearm, or he can say
A net can only affect creatures made of solid small nonhumans (such as goblins) cannot use
material. Wraiths, spectres, ethereal creatures, nets larger than 6' x 6'. that he is using one of the following specific
and monsters made of water (such as water ele- types of real-world polearms:
mentals) cannot be affected. Normal Sword: See Sword, Normal (below).
• Bardiche: This weapon has a heavy axe
A net inflicts no damage on the victim, but Oil, Burning: This type of weapon usually blade with a long spike projecting forward.
may entangle, slow, or delay the victim. The consists of cooking or lamp oil poured into a
wielder makes a normal roll to hit his target; if breakable container (such as a bottle, gourd, or • Bill: A lightweight weapon, the bill has a
he does, the target must make a saving throw vs. glass lamp), with a fuse or wick attached. In long, narrow, single-edged blade (like a scythe).
death ray, possibly with a bonus (see the Weapon combat, the wielder lights the fuse or wick and
Special Effects Table). throws it at his target (lighting and throwing on- • Gisarme: This weapon resembles a bill with
ly takes one round if the character has another lit a thin spike on the back of the blade, curving
If the saving throw succeeds, the net does not object handy). If the container hits the target, it forward.
affect the target; it drops off him without im- bursts, splashes the target with the oil, and ig-
pairing him at all. If the victim fails his saving nites the oil on target. • Glaive: This weapon has a broad, knifelike
throw, the result varies by the victim's experi- blade.
ence level or size. Burning oil causes 1d8 points of damage each
round a target is in the fire. Oil that has been lit • Lochaber Axe: This weapon has a long,
Once a target is trapped in a net, he may make and thrown will burn for 2 rounds. If you are us- heavy, single-bladed axe with a hook on the
a new saving throw during the hand-to-hand ing the optional Weapon Mastery rules (next back, pointing forward.
combat phase of each round until one is success- chapter), all characters are considered to have
ful; a successful roll indicates that the net has Basic mastery level with thrown containers of • Partizan: The partizan has a broad spear-
been pulled off and thrown aside. If he has a burning oil. head with two hooks at the base, pointing for-
dagger (but not a longer weapon or a nonbladed ward.
weapon) in his hand when he is hit with the net, Pike: See Polearms, Pike (below).
he has a +4 to his saving throw; success means • Ranseur: This weapon has a short, sharp
that he has cut his way out of the net, thus de- Polearms: Polearms consist of various weapon spike flanked by two short, curved blades at its
stroying it. blades mounted on long poles. Polearms may be base.
used only by fighters, dwarves, elves, and mys-
Nets Table tics. Because of a polearm's length, a character • Spetum: The spetum has a long spike with
with a polearm may attack a foe even when there two sharp curved blades forming a trident shape.
Victim's Size Equivalent* Net Size** is another friend or foe between them. Often,
Very small Up to 1' 2'X2' polearm wielders stand in the second rank of the • Spontoon: The spontoon has an elaborate
Small l + '-3' 4'X4' combat, striking over the heads of their front- blade, possibly wavy or with flares.
Medium 3+'-6' 6'X6' line comrades to hit front-line fighters of the en-
Large 6 + '-10' 9'X9' emy force. • Voulge: The voulge has a large, heavy,
Very large 10 + '-15' 12'x12' broad blade like a cleaver.
Huge 15 + '-20' 16'x16' A polearm may be used with the Fighter Com-
Mammoth 20+ '-30' bat options. However, the optional disarm rule In the campaign, a DM can simply use the ge-
25'X25' may only be used where noted with the weapon neric polearm entry on the Weapons Table for
type. polearm variants. Or, if he's using the Weapon
* A small net is right for a target the size of Mastery rules, he can follow the guidelines in
a halfling; a medium net is right for hu- The polearm user's attack rolls suffer penalties that chapter for combining the traits of hal-
man, dwarf, and elf targets. of — 3 for each of the following cases: berds, pikes, and polearms into new weapons.

** Or equivalent in square feet. • The user is a dwarf. Regardless of type, all polearms are two-
• The wielder is attacking from behind a larg- handed weapons; the wielder of the weapon may
Magical nets are rare. The few that exist can- er ally. not use a shield and always loses individual ini-
not be damaged except by fire or acid; daggers • An ally in front of the user is using a two- tiative to characters not using a two-handed
will not cut through them. An entangled victim handed weapon (other than a polearm) or any weapon. Halflings and small nonhumans (such
can only remove the net, not damage it. weapon that is swung backward behind the as goblins) cannot use this weapon.
wielder (e.g., a battle axe, bola, sling, etc.), thus
The effects listed on the Weapon Special Ef- endangering the polearm bearer. Poleaxe: See Polearms, Poleaxe (above).
fects Table are as follows: If you are using the Weapon Mastery rules
from the next chapter, characters trained in the Rock, Thrown: This is a rock of fist size or
Entangle: The victim cannot attack, cast use of these two-handed weapons can deflect at- smaller. When a character throws any object that
spells, or move until a saving throw is successful. tacks with them. causes impact damage, treat it as if it were a
Four types of pole arms are shown on the thrown rock; the DM can reduce the damage
Slow: The victim is slowed, moving and at- done if he thinks it is not as punishing as a nor-
tacking at half his normal rate. He cannot cast mal rock. Strength modifications apply to attack
spells. rolls and damage.

Delay: The victim automatically loses initia- If you are using the optional Weapon Mastery
tive for the next round. rules, all characters are considered to have Basic
mastery level with thrown rocks.

Shield Weapons: These weapons combine a
shield with weapon blades. Though awkward
and prone to breaking, a shield weapon can pro-
vide a second attack when used with a one-

handed weapon. Only fighters, thieves, and of the weapon may not use a shield and always even in its two-handed style, does not lose his
demihumans may use these weapons. Monsters loses individual initiative to characters not using initiative roll, and halflings and other small crea-
rarely use shield weapons. a two-handed weapon. Halflings and small non- tures can use this weapon.
humans cannot use this weapon.
The larger shield weapons may break during Tusked Shield: See Shield Weapons, Tusked
battle. Check for breakage whenever the attacker Stone: See Rock, Thrown (above). Shield (above).
or the defender rolls the exact attack roll needed.
(For example, if a roll of 9 or better is needed to Sword, Bastard: This popular weapon is simi- Two-Handed Sword: See Sword, Two-Handed
hit and a 9 is rolled on the die, check for break- lar to a normal sword (below) but has a longer (above).
age.) Each time a breakage occurs, one of the blade and a hilt (handle) nearly as long as that of
shield weapon's blades becomes unusable. a two-handed sword; the overall weapon length War Hammer: See Hammer, War (above).
may be from 3 1/2' to 4 1/2'. The sword may be
The chance that a shield weapon will break is wielded either one- or two-handed. Whip: This weapon is a long, braided leather
5 or less on 1d10. Magical shield bonuses add to strap with a handle. It may be from 5'-30' long.
the die roll, and magical weapon bonuses of the A character cannot use a shield while using It is a hand-to-hand weapon and may be used to
foe subtract from it. In addition to magical mod- this item two-handed. However, it does not either cause damage (1d2 points) or to entangle.
ifiers, modify the foe's attack roll by - 1 per 10 cause the loss of individual initiative. The bas- Before each combat round, the user must declare
points of maximum damage possible. tard sword cannot be used by a halfling or other which option is being used. Whichever he uses,
small humanoid. he makes a normal attack roll.
For example, a fighter with a sword shield + 3
is attacked by a monster using a two-handed Sword, Normal: This is the classic weapon of If he scores a hit, the whip either inflicts ld2
sword. The monster needs a 7 to hit his target fantasy. It consists of a one-handed hilt (handle) points of damage or (if entangling is attempted)
(before any modifications), and he rolls a 7 on attached to a long cutting or thrusting blade; the forces the victim to make a saving throw vs.
the die. The wielder of the sword shield must weapon is usually between 2"/2( to 3 1/2' long. death ray, possibly with a bonus. (See the Weap-
check for breakage. on Special Effects Table for his saving throw bo-
Sword, Short: This is much like the normal nus and the result of the attack.) If the victim
The shield wielder's base roll is 1d10; on a 5 or sword (above) but smaller; it is usually between fails his saving throw, he may be entangled,
less his shield breaks. His roll will have a -1 2' to 2 1/2' long. Halflings and small nonhumans slowed, or delayed.
penalty because his opponent's two-handed such as goblins can use this weapon.
sword can do up to 10 points of damage. But he The effects listed on the Weapon Special Ef-
will have a bonus of +3 because his shield is Sword, Two-Handed: This weapon, also called fects Table are as follows:
magical. He rolls a 6, which yields 6 - 1 + 3 = 8. the great sword, is the largest type of sword. It is
His shield doesn't break. similar to the normal sword (above) but much Entangle: The victim cannot attack, cast
longer, usually being 4 1/2' to 6 1/2' long. spells, or move until a saving throw is successful.
The four types of shield weapons are as fol-
lows: This sword is a two-handed weapon; the Slow: The victim is slowed, moving and at-
wielder of the weapon may not use a shield and tacking at half his normal rate. He cannot cast
Horned Shield: A one-foot circular shield that always loses individual initiative to characters spells.
is strapped to the arm rather than held. A single not using a two-handed weapon. Halflings and
spike projects from its center. This shield is very small nonhumans such as goblins cannot use this Delay: The victim automatically loses initia-
durable and will not break. weapon. tive for the next round.

Knife Shield: A small buckler equipped with Sword Shield: See Shield Weapons, Sword This weapon is not very useful except as a tac-
one or two short blades protruding from its Shield (above). tical device. It is most often used by a thief or
sides. other character who wants to help a front-line
Throwing Hammer: See Hammer, Throwing fighter somehow while not actually engaging in
Sword Shield: A medium-size shield with one (above). melee.
or two sword or spear blades projecting from the
sides (if round) or ends (if oblong). Torch: A torch is basically a flaming club. Al- A whip can only entangle creatures made of
though lighter than a club, it is on fire so it does solid material. Wraiths, spectres, ethereal crea-
Tusked Shield: A large shield with one to four the same amount of damage as a club (ld4). If tures, and monsters made of water (such as water
short blades protruding from the sides. It may someone uses an unlit torch as a bludgeoning elementals) cannot be entangled. They will,
have a central spike. Due to its size, the tusked weapon, it does 1d2 points of damage. however, suffer the normal damage caused by a
shield requires two hands to use and may not be whip. (A normal whip will not hit a monster that
used with an additional weapon or another If you use the optional Weapon Mastery rules, can only be hit by magical weapons, of course;
shield. Characters using this weapon always lose mastery with a club is also mastery with a torch. that would require a magical whip.)
individual initiative to characters not using a However (also from the Weapon Mastery rules),
two-handed weapon. Halflings and small non- someone unskilled with a torch does not halve Nonstandard Weapon Use
humans such as goblins cannot use this weapon. damage, but always inflicts 1d4 points (regard- (Optional)
less if the torch is lit).
Short Bow: See Bow, Short (above). Sometimes a character may want to use a one-
Trident: This is a light spear with three barbed handed weapon with two hands. This inflicts
Short Sword: See Sword, Short (below). prongs on the end, designed for underwater use. more damage, but has the following limitations:
Any small creatures (2' long or less, such as nor-
Sling: This is a length of cord or a long leather mal fish) hit by a trident become stuck on the • Any one-handed weapon (except "Other
strap with a pouch in the middle. The user plac- spiked prongs. To free themselves, they need to Weapons") can be used for this option.
es a stone or metal "bullet" in the pouch, holds make an ability check vs. Strength to free them-
the sling by the ends, whirls it to build up speed, selves. They may make one attempt per round; • The character loses individual initiative.
and then releases one end of the strap to launch many small creatures have Strengths that do not • The character cannot effectively use a shield
the missile at his target. exceed 1 or 2. for defense while wielding a weapon two-
handed (no AC bonus).
Spear: The spear is a thrusting head attached This weapon can be used either one- or two- When used two-handed, weapons gain an ad-
to one end of a medium-to-long pole (6'-8'). handed. Used two-handed, it operates similarly ditional +1 point of damage to their attacks.
Fighters, dwarves, elves, and mystics can use the to other two-handed weapons (i.e., the wielder This bonus applies to any one-handed weapons
set spear vs. charge maneuver (see Chapter 8). cannot use a shield when using the weapon this used with both hands, regardless of the original
way). However, a character using this weapon, damage of the weapon. Therefore, a dagger used
Staff: This is a 2" -thick staff, 4'-6' long, possi- in this way inflicts ld4 + 1 (2-5) points of dam-
bly with iron-loaded ends. A staff may be used age, and a spear does ld6 + l (2-7) points of
by all classes, even by magic-users if the DM so damage when wielded with both hands.
permits.

The staff is a two-handed weapon; the wielder

Armor Armor Table

All fighters, clerics, dwarves, elves, and half- AC Armor Type Cost Enc
lings can use any of the types of armor described (-1)* Shield
below. Thieves and druids can use the types of Leather Armor (gp) (cn) Notes
armor indicated in the "Notes" column. Magic- 7 Scale Mail 10 100 D
users and mystics can use none of these armor 6 Chain Mail 20 200 D,T
types. 5 Banded Mail 30 300
Plate Mail 40
Armor is normally made for a specific race. 4 Suit Armor 50 400
The DM can impose penalties on a character who 3 60
wears the armor of a different race. For example, 0 450
an elf would find a dwarf's chain mail awkward 250
and heavy (for an additional reduction to move- 500
ment beyond what the armor's encumbrance 750 S
calls for), a halfling would find it very hard to
move in a human's armor (he would have to save * Subtract 1 from AC if a shield is used.
vs. paralysis each round to avoid tripping and D A druid can use this type of armor if it contains no metal parts or other nonorganic components
falling down), and a dwarf couldn't get into a
halfling's armor at all! (parts that have never been alive).
S Suit armor has some very special characteristics; carefully read the description of this type of
Armor Descriptions
armor.
Each type of armor constitutes a full set. The T A thief can use this type of armor.
player can presume that his character, as part of the
set of armor, gets the type of headgear appropriate the leather. Plate Mail: This is not the full plate armor
to the armor (e.g., from a stout leather cap to a full Chain Mail: This is a full-sized shirt, often in-
metal helm). The player may imagine other appro- usually associated with knights. It consists of nu-
priate armor components as he chooses—gauntlets, cluding a hood and sometimes including full merous metal plates (the chestplate being the
vambraces, greaves, etc.—as these components do pants, made of interlocked rings of metal. It is most important of them) linked together by
not affect play or armor class. worn over a quilted shirt called a gambeson. chain mesh; it's much like the chain mail armor
When someone with a heavy weapon hits a char- described above except that it has large, shaped
The armor listed in the Armor Table is de- acter in chain mail, the gambeson keeps the metal plates reinforcing it.
scribed here and is presented alphabetically for chain mail's links from being driven into the
your convenience. flesh. (Additionally, it keeps him from being Scale Mail: This armor consists of light leather
chilled by flesh-to-metal contact in cool weather armor completely covered with overlapping
Banded Mail: This is a suit of heavy leather ar- and from being pinched by the rings.) metal scales sewn or riveted onto the leather.
mor with strips or knobs of metal imbedded in
Leather Armor: This armor is made of tough Shield: A shield can be any of a number of
leather, often boiled for extra toughness, or even sizes as follows:
boiled in wax (which produces armor known as
• Target or Buckler (a small round shield,
cuir-boulli). with only one strap, held in the fighter's hand);

• Medium or Round (a larger, heavier shield,

often with two straps—one for the fighter's hand Barding Encumbrance Table Movement Encumbrance: Encumbrance:
and one further up on his forearm); or Animal
Horse, Draft Rate Full Movement (cn) Half Movement (cn)
• Wall or Tower (a huge shield nearly the size Horse, Riding 90' (30') 4,500 9,000
of the wielder, usually with two straps like a Me- Horse, War 240' (80') 3,000 6,000
dium). Mule 120' (40') 4,000 8,000
Pegasus 120' (40') 3,000 6,000
Regardless of size, all shields provide the same Flying 240' (80') 3,000 6,000
amount of protection by lowering the armor class Pony 480' (160') 3,000 6,000
score by — 1. Smaller shields are considered eas- Unicorn 210' (70') 2,000 4,000
ier to move into the path of danger, while larger 240' (80') 2,000 4,000
shields protect better but are slower to move into
the path of danger—thus the benefit is evenly An unarmored fighter needs two full turns to turing Gear Table.
divided. dress in suit armor; it takes one full turn to take
it off. Barding for Other Animals (Optional)
Suit Armor: Suit armor is the type of armor asso-
ciated with the mounted knights of high romance. Suit armor gives no additional protection The DM can allow characters to commission
It encloses the wearer completely in a sheath of against gaze attacks (such as a medusa's) or elec- barding for other creatures. If he does, here are
steel, with chain-link joints to permit movement. It tricity (such as a blue dragon's lightning breath). some rules for the DM to gauge the cost and en-
is often called plate armor (which is different than cumbrance of barding made for other types of
plate mail), full plate, gothic armor, or jousting ar- The wearer has a - 5 penalty when using any creatures.
mor. However, suit armor is more like the plate ar- missile device other than a crossbow. If alone,
mor made during the last days of armor-making. the wearer suffers a - 1 penalty to be surprised. In Chapter 14, many creatures have a listing
The arrival of gunpowder forced armor-makers to (In other words, a fighter in such armor rolling titled "Load." This shows what sort of load the
thicken the armor made, which rendered it too for surprise might roll a 3, indicating no sur- creature can carry and with what modification to
heavy and clumsy and impractical for use, leading prise, but the penalty applied will reduce the roll its movement rate. (Not all creatures have this
to the abandonment of making armor. In the to a 2, resulting in the fighter being surprised.) information.) With many "Load" paragraphs is
D&D® game, the presence of magic has had almost a "Barding Multiplier." This is a number that
the same effect on suit armor. Barding represents how much more difficult it is to make
barding for this creature and how much more
Advantages: Suit armor alone is armor class 0. Some characters purchase armor for their encumbered the creature will be with barding.
It may be used with a shield for armor class — 1. horses so that their mounts, too, will be protect-
ed in combat. To determine how much it costs to make bard-
Suit armor reduces the damage inflicted by ing for any type of creature, take its barding cost
most area effects (fire, cold, gas, acid), including Barding Table Cost Enc and encumbrance multiplier and multiply it by
breath weapons. The base damage is reduced by (gp) cn the cost and encumbrance columns from the
1 point per die of damage, and the wearer gains Armor Barding Table.
a +2 bonus to the applicable saving throw. The AC Type 40 250
minimum base damage is always at least 1 point 7 Leather 75 400 For example, a character wants to find the cost
per die. 6 Scale 150 600 and encumbrance of armor specially made for his
400 1,500 griffon. Take the cost and encumbrance values
For example, the damage from the breath of a 5 Chain 500 3,000 from the Barding Table and then multiply them
small red dragon (HD 10, 57 hit points) is re- 4 Banded 600 4,000 by the barding cost and encumbrance multiplier
duced by 1 point per die of damage (- 10) to 47; 3 Plate 700 5,000 from the description of the griffon in Chapter
the fighter in suit armor may make the usual sav- 2 Field 14. The griffon's multiplier is a x 5. The grif-
ing throw, but with a +2 bonus, to take half 0 Joust fon's basic AC is 5, so it will need banded bard-
damage (24 points). ing (or better) to improve its condition.
Most of these types of barding correspond to
Magical suit armor can reduce such damage types of character armor. Chain barding, for ex- Multiplying the cost and encumbrance by 5, the
still further, by 1 point per die of damage for ample, is made up of the same material as a banded armor for a griffon would cost 2,000 gp
each two pluses of enchantment (rounded character's chain mail. Joust barding is the horse and have an encumbrance of 7,500 cn. The grif-
down). equivalent of suit armor. Field barding is similar fon's description says that it can fly with up to a
to joust barding, but lighter. load of 7,000 cn at full speed or 14,000 cn at half
If a fighter in suit armor is mounted and has speed, so the griffon carrying this armor must be
assistance from others, the disadvantages of en- Barding and Encumbrance reduced to half flying speed.
cumbrance, slow movement, and surprise can be
minimized. On the Barding Encumbrance Table are the When barding provides an AC that is only
types of mounts for which barding is usually equal to or worse than the creature's natural AC,
Disadvantages: Suit armor is bulky and ex- made. Note that one animal's barding will not it will do no good to wear the armor.
pensive. Its encumbrance is 750 cn. It must be fit another type of animal, except that barding
specially made for one wearer, tailored exactly to made for a war horse will fit a draft horse and Adventuring Gear
fit; the cost is 250 gp. Magical forms are propor- vice versa.
tionately more valuable, averaging 50% greater This section describes many of the items that
value than plate mail of identical enchantment. Listed on the Barding Encumbrance Table is characters take on adventures.
the animal, its normal movement rate, the
Suit armor is awkward in some situations, es- amount of encumbrance it can carry at its normal Adventuring Gear
pecially when getting up from a prone position movement rate, and the amount of encum- Descriptions
or mounting a steed. If attempted alone, the brance it can carry up to half its movement rate.
chance of success is 1 in 6 per round. In late me- If loaded with an amount of encumbrance The equipment listed in the Adventuring
dieval times, the latter problem was solved by greater than the amount shown in the last Gear Table is described here. The items are ar-
the use of a strap tied around the wearer and column, the beast will not move. ranged alphabetically for your convenience.
over a handy limb or bar. The knight was then
hoisted into the air and lowered onto the mount. Remember that the encumbrance shown is the Backpack: This sturdy pack is used to carry
In the D&D game, assume automatic success in total encumbrance being carried by the beast. equipment on the character's back. The shoul-
getting up if anyone is available to help the This includes the barding, the weight of the der straps leave the character's hands free for
wearer. rider(s) and all armor and gear. Encumbrance other actions.
rates for characters' gear is listed in the Adven-
Suit armor is noisy and slow. Its common Boots: Plain boots are standard, mid-calf
creaks and clanks can be heard up to 120 feet
away and negate chances for surprise. The wear-
er's movement rate is 30' (10'); most fighters
prefer to use their suit armor only when fighting
from horseback.

Adventuring Gear Table Description / Notes Cost Enc who can use a war hammer.
Capacity 400 cn 5gp (cn)
Item 2 sp Hat or Cap: This is standard headgear for the
Backpack Tunic and pants; blouse and skirt; 1gp 20* campaign setting.
Belt dress; robe; or equivalent 5gp 5**
Boots, plain 5sp 10** Holy Symbol: This is a sign or symbol of a cler-
Boots, riding or swash-topped See above 1gp 15**
Cloak, short See above 10** ic's beliefs. It is often used to physically ward off
Cloak, long See above 5 sp 15** vampires, and DMs may make holy symbols nec-
Clothes, plain 5gp essary for a cleric to turn undead.
Clothes, middle-class Small 20 gp 20***
Clothes, fine 50+gp 20** Holy Water: This is water prepared by a high
Clothes, extravagant Breakable vial 5gp 20** level cleric. It will cause damage to undead mon-
Garlic One spike 25 gp 30** sters.
Grappling hook Twelve spikes 2gp
Hammer Burns oil ' 2sp 1 Iron Spikes: These are essentially large, long
Hat or cap Hand-sized, steel 25 gp 80
Holy symbol One flask 25 gp 10 iron nails; they may have flat heads or circular,
Holy water Wooden, 10' long 1 sp open heads (the latter kind is useful for tying
Iron spike Capacity 50 cn 1gp 3 ropes to). Spikes can be used to wedge doors
Iron spikes For arrows or quarrels 10 gp 1 open, provide grips for climbing or anchors for
Lantern Preserved food for one person for 5gp 1 ropes, pry things loose, and so forth. Characters
Mirror 2gp 5
Oil one week 1 gp 60 will need a hammer to pound them into hard
Pole Unpreserved food for one person 5sp 30 surfaces such as stone and wood.
Pouch, belt 1gp 5
Quiver for one week 10 Lantern: This is a simple oil lantern that casts
Rations, iron 50' length 15 gp 100 light in a 30' radius, burning one flask of oil in
Rations, standard Capacity 200 cn four hours (24 turns). Most types are shuttered or
Rope Capacity 600 cn 5gp 2*
Sack, small 1gp 5*** enclosed against wind.
Sack, large Lockpicks, wire, etc. 1gp Mirror: Your character can use a mirror to look
Shoes Flint, steel, kindling 2gp 70
Stakes (3) and mallet One torch 5sp around corners, examine empty rooms, and de-
Thieves' tools Six torches 3gp 200 fend against magical gaze attacks. When a char-
Tinder box One-quart capacity; enc 30 when 25 gp 50 acter uses a mirror to watch an opponent, he
Torch 3gp 1* receives a - 2 penalty to attack rolls when he
Torches filled 2 sp 85** *
Waterskin /wineskin One quart, wineskin not included 1gp 10 tries to hit that target, and he cannot use a shield
Wine One bunch 10 (he's holding the mirror in his shield hand). The
Wolfsbane 1gp 5 area must be lit for the mirror to work this way.

1gp 20 Oil: Oil is burned in a lantern for light. A
flask of oil may also be thrown as a missile weap-
10 gp 120 on or poured out and ignited to delay pursuit.

5 Pole, Wooden: This is the proverbial 10' pole,
30 made of wood 2" thick. Particularly cautious ad-
venturers, or adventurers in regions where such
1 objects have proven their usefulness, use poles to
prod piles of rags, stir around in watery pools,
* This is the item's encumbrance when empty. When goods are placed within it, the encum-
poke into corners, touch objects that may have
brance includes both the item's encumbrance and the encumbrance of the goods within it. traps attached to them, test the sturdiness of
Thus, a fully filled belt pouch has an encumbrance of 55 cn. floors and ledges, and so forth.
** This is the encumbrance if packed. If the clothes are worn, disregard the encumbrance.
*** This is the quiver's encumbrance when empty. Filled with arrows or quarrels, it is up to 10 cn Quiver: This is a container for arrows or quar-
for encumbrance. A 5-cn encumbrance quiver + 10 cn of missiles (20 arrows or 30 quarrels) rels; it is usually made of leather. A lesser-quality
still equals only a 10-cn encumbrance bundle to carry around.
quiver is included in the basic cost of a load of
leather boots. Riding boots are more expensive clothes, after all!) ammunition, as noted on the Ammunition Ta-
footwear coming up to the knee or just below. Garlic: This is an aromatic herb that repels ble above.
Swash-topped boots are soft leather boots that
come up well above the knee, but the top por- vampires and some other undead monsters. Rations: Your character needs to pack food
Grappling Hook: A large 3- or 4-pronged and drink when traveling; rations are food that
tion folds down at knee height or below, result- has been packaged for travel. A single ration is
ing in a cuff. hook, made of specially hardened iron, this item enough food to sustain one vigorous adult for a
is tied to the end of the rope and then swung up week—that is, about 21 meals. Rations for ad-
Cloak: The D&D® game gives no special ben- or over a target. A successful attack roll, with diffi- venturers typically come in two types as follows:
efit to characters wearing cloaks, but the DM culty modifiers as the DM decides, means that the
may decide that a character caught in cold hook has anchored itself to the target. With use of Standard Rations: These rations consist of un-
weather without a cloak or similar garment could this tool, the characters can often cross gaps or treated food chosen and prepared for traveling;
eventually suffer from exposure. climb walls they could not otherwise climb. The they will last up to a week when the characters
hook may also be attached manually to a nearby are traveling outdoors. Carried into a dank, un-
Clothes: A character is presumed to start play surface, such as when a thief climbs a wall and healthy dungeon, they spoil overnight.
with two or three sets of clothes of the plain vari-
ety. Plain clothes are fine for most travel and ad- then attaches a line for his friends to climb. Iron Rations: These rations are preserved food
venturing purposes; the better grades of clothes Hammer: This is used to drive iron spikes into (beef jerky, hard tack, dried fruits and vegeta-
are for social purposes. (Characters invited to the bles, etc.); they are not as tasty as standard ra-
king's ball don't go in plain or middle-class hard surfaces. Used as a weapon, it does ld3 tions, but they last for two months (eight weeks)
points of damage and can be wielded by anyone in normal travel and up to a week in bad condi-
tions (such as dungeons).

Rope (50' Length): This is a heavy climbing
rope that can support three fully loaded humans
(i.e., about 7,500 cn in encumbrance). Rope can
be tied to an iron spike and used to climb up
steep walls. It may also be useful in tying up cap-
tured prisoners, pulling doors open, etc.

Sack, Large: This is a burlap, cloth, or leather
bag, usually 2' x 4'. It is normally carried over a

shoulder (occupying one hand) or tied onto a

cart or saddle-horn; if carried in hand, it is usu- much further on the same amount of water. Saddle Bag: This is a long, two-pocketed
ally dropped when the owner goes into combat. Horses: As campaigns develop, characters will leather container that lies behind the saddle.

Sack, Small: Similar to a large sack, the 1' X 2' travel many miles in search of adventure. Most Wagon: This is a large wooden wagon pulled
cloth bag can be carried over the shoulder (occu- characters will probably purchase one or more by two or four draft horses (or four, six, or eight
pying one hand) or tied onto a cart or a saddle- horses to make travel faster and easier. Types of mules). The wagon's maximum safe movement
horn. Some characters tie it off their belts or horses are as follows: rate is 60' (20'); above that rate, the DM should
(with quick-release knots) to their spearheads. check once per turn to see if the wagon breaks
Draft Horses: These horses are huge, plodding down or tips over. On 1 on a 1d6, it breaks
Shoes: A character should have shoes if he is animals usually used to plow fields and perform down, and on a 2 it tips over. The wagon cannot
going to travel or explore dungeons; the DM other farm labors. Characters will seldom want travel through desert, forest, mountain, or
might assign damage to barefoot characters to ride them—normally this will occur only swamp except by road.
walking through bad terrain or treacherous cata- when they need to transport an injured person or
combs. a lot of gear and they have no other mount. Vehicle Movement Speeds
The animals noted above can pull the carrying
Stakes and Mallet: Three large (18") wooden Riding Horses: This type of horse is the fastest
stakes and a wooden mallet can be quite useful normal steed, but it is no help in combat. capacities for carts and wagons with no problem
for destroying vampires. or hindrance against their movement speeds.
War Horses: These horses are larger and hardi- The vehicles can be loaded heavier, but move-
Thieves' Tools: Required for picking locks, er than riding horses, and they may be useful in ment speeds will suffer.
these items are usable only by thieves. A typical wilderness encounters. A war horse can fight, us-
set includes various lockpicks, fine wire, etc. ing its two front hoof attacks (for 1d6 points Simply put, if the animal's normal encum-
each), with the help of the character riding it. brance value is equal to or higher than the
Tinderbox: The tinderbox is a small box con- While guiding the horse, the character cannot weight in the vehicle, it can pull it at its normal
taining flint, steel, and tinder (wood shavings). cast a spell, but he can attack or perform some speed. If the encumbrance of the vehicle exceeds
Characters use this to start any fires, be it for other action (such as drinking a potion, chang- the animal's normal encumbrance value, it can
their camp or their torches. To use a tinderbox, ing weapons, etc.). When not carrying a rider, a be pulled at half the animal's normal speed.
roll 1d6; under normal (comparatively dry) cir- war horse will defend itself without needing
cumstances, a fire is successfully ignited on a re- such guidance. Any class can ride a war horse. For example, one draft horse pulls a cart load-
sult of 1 or 2. Someone with a tinderbox may try ed down with 3,000 cn of cargo; this cart could
to use it once per round. Mules: Mules are cheaper, less glamorous ani- travel at the horse's maximum rate of 90' (30'),
mals than horses, but they are very durable and though speeds greater than 60' (20') risk upset-
Torch: This is any 1' to 2' long piece of wood, reliable mounts and pack animals. ting the vehicle and the cargo. The same draft
its head sometimes covered with an inflammable horse can pull a cart loaded with 5,000 cn of car-
substance such as pitch. It casts light in a 30' ra- Ponies: Ponies are small riding equines. Their go, but this cart moves at half speed or 45' (15').
dius and burns for one hour (six turns). See the diminutive stature makes them ideal mounts for
description from the Weapons Table for informa- halflings, children, and small characters. Water Transportation
tion on using a torch as a weapon; clerics can use
it as a weapon. The items and accoutrements listed in the When characters must travel along rivers or
Land Transportation Gear Table are useful to ad- across oceans, they'll need to find water trans-
Waterskin: This flexible container is usually venturers who have the above riding animals. portation. Vessels and pertinent information are
made of leather or a preserved animal bladder. It listed in the Sailing Vessels Table.
has a liquid capacity of one quart and an encum- Land Transportation
brance of 30 cn when filled, 5 cn when empty. Equipment Descriptions Crew numbers do not include the captains of
the vessels. All vessels should have a captain ex-
Wine: This is the cost of a quart of common The items listed in the Land Transportation cept lifeboats, river boats, sailboats, and rafts.
wine, not including the container. Gear Table are described here and are arranged
alphabetically for your use. As a rule of thumb, galleys sail only along the
Wolfsbane: Sold dried or fresh in single sprigs, coast; they do not venture across oceans. River
this is an herb used to drive off lycanthropes, Cart: A cart is pulled either by one or two boats and rafts are used for travel on rivers and
who cannot abide its presence. draft horses or by two to four mules. The cart's will almost surely be destroyed if they venture
maximum safe movement rate is 60' (20'); above too far from coastal shores. Canoes are normally
Land Transportation that rate, the DM should check once per turn to used on rivers. All other vessels are suitable for
Equipment see if the cart breaks down or tips over. On 1 on a use on the open ocean.
1d6, it breaks down, and on a 2 or 3 it tips over.
Characters usually acquire land animals, and The cart's carrying capacity is 4,000 cn when Water Vessel Descriptions
sometimes carts or wagons, for transportation of pulled by a single horse, 8,000 cn when pulled
themselves and their gear overland. Adventurers by two. It cannot travel through desert, forest, The vessels listed in the Sailing Vessels Table
typically buy the types of animals for transporta- mountain, or swamp except by road. are described below.
tion listed in the Riding Animal Costs Table. In
addition, they may purchase other equipment Saddle & Tack: This is a leather and wooden Boat, River: This boat is designed specifically
from the Land Transportation Gear Table. saddle with metal fastenings. It is assumed to in- for river travel. The length is 20'-30', beam
clude a blanket, bridle and bit, and stirrups. The (width) is 10', and draft (depth under water) is
Riding Animal Costs Table Cost (gp) saddle's capacity does not refer to the size of the 2'-3'. Capacity: 30,000 cn. Crew: 8 rowers, 2
100 rider; it is the amount of encumbrance the sad- sailors (one of whom acts as captain). It may be
Animal dle can carry in the form of sacks tied to the
Camel 40 saddle-horn, weapon sheathes, etc.
Horse: 75
250 Land Transportation Gear Table Cost (gp) Capacity (cn) Notes
Draft 30 25 200 (Enc 300) W
Riding 35 Item 5 800 (Enc 100) W
War Saddle & Tack 100 (b)
Mule Saddle Bags 200 4,000/8,000 (b)
Pony Cart (2 wheels) 15,000/25,000
Wagon (4 wheels)
Riding Animal Descriptions
(a) The Enc figure is the amount of weight the empty container adds to the load the horse carries.
The animals listed in the Riding Animal Costs For example, a fully laden saddlebag has an encumbrance of 900 cn.
Table are described here and are arranged alpha-
betically for your use. (b) The cart's or wagon's capacity varies with the number of horses pulling it; one horse indicates
the lesser capacity, two horses indicates the greater. These figures are based on using draft
Camels: These animals are normally only horses. Two mules can substitute for one horse.
found in desert campaigns. They are better suit-
ed to arid climates than horses, and they travel

Sailing Vessels Table

Item Cost Crew Sailors Marines Capacity Move Move Hull Armor
Boat, River (gp) Rowers 2 M* Mi/Day** Ft/Rnd** Points Class
Boat, Sailing 4,000 1 50 40,000 36 20-40
Canoe 2,000 8 1 20 20,000 72 60 20-40 8
Galleys: 20 75 6,000 18 120 8
50 180 10 60 5-10 9
Large 60 30 60,000 18/72 90/120
Small 30,000 300 40,000 18/90 90/150 100-120 7
War 10,000 75t 80,000 12/72 60/120 80-100 8
Lifeboat, Ship's 60,000 15,000 18 30 120-150 7
Longship 30,000 18/90 90/150 10-20
Rafts tt: 1,000 30 60-80 9
Professional 15,000 10,000 12 30 8
Built by PCs 5,000 12 150 5
Sailing Ships: 1 gp/sq ft 120 5 9
Small 100,000 90 90 9
Large 5,000 10 25t 300,000 60-90
Troop Transport 20 50J 600,000 72 120-180 8
20,000 20 100 60 160-220 7
7
30,000

*This column shows the vessel's capacity in addition to the listed crew. For example, a river boat can carry 8 people and 40,000 en in additional cargo.
"Cargo" includes any additional passengers.

**If two rates are given, the first rate is for rowing, the second for sailing. The first rate is used on windless days (or rounds), and the second on days or
rounds when there is wind in the sails. If only one rate is given, it is for sailing; on windless days, or days when wind is against the vessel, the vessel
does not move.

t Longship: Sailors acts as both rowers and marines.
tt The hull points and movement rate figures are for each 100 square foot section (10' x 10').
+ Sailing ships have no marines. If this vessel is converted into a troop transport, it can accommodate this number of marines and keep its cargo

capacity, but it costs 1/3 more gp.

rowed or poled; it may have a wooden roof for ten people. It is designed for survival and each Troop Transport: Identical in size to the large
protection from weather (1,000 gp extra). has a collapsible mast. The length is 20', beam is sailing ship, this ship is designed to carry people.
4'-5', and draft is l'-2'. Capacity: 15,000 cn. Capacity: double large sailing ship, calculated
Boat, Sailing: This is a single-masted boat, de- Stored onboard the ship is one week's iron ra- for men and horses. This vessel often has special
signed for lake or coastal use. The length is 15'- tions for ten people. Small ships usually carry modifications. For example, troop transports de-
45', beam is 5'-15', and draft is 3'-8'. Capacity: one or two lifeboats; large ships carry three or signed to carry cavalry will have a hatch cut into
20,000 cn. Minimum crew: 1 sailor; additional four. Lifeboats are not included in the listed cost the side for loading horses or other animals.
crew and captain may be hired. of ships. A lifeboat carried onboard another ves-
sel has an encumbrance of 5,000 cn (deducted Ship Combat Characteristics
Canoe: This is a light wood frame covered from the ship's capacity). Hull Pts: A ship's ability to remain afloat after
with hides, canvas, or waterproof bark; it is de-
signed for rivers and swamps. The length is 15', Longship: This ship is designed for river, taking water or damage is measured by a num-
beam is 3', and draft is 1'. Capacity: 6,000 cn. It ocean, or coastal use. The length is 60'-80', ber, called hull points. Hull points for a ship are
may be carried by one or two people; encum- very similar to hit points for a character; when a
brance is 1,000 cn for one, 300 cn each for two beam is 10'-15', and draft is 2'-3'. Capacity: ship reaches zero or fewer hull points, it will sink
people. A special type of canoe, the outrigger, 40,000 cn. Standard crew: 75 sailors (acting as in 1d10 rounds.
can sail on the ocean; it costs twice as much as rowers and marines), 1 captain. Sixty rowers are
the normal canoe and has three times the en- needed for full speed. If a ship is reduced to zero or fewer hull
cumbrance. points, it can no longer move under its own
Raft: This is an awkward floating platform or power or attack with ship-mounted weapons.
Galley, Large: This ship is designed for oceans barge, moved by poles or natural current, and The DM can decide whether any onboard cata-
and large lakes. The length is 120'-150', beam is often equipped with a crude steering oar. Maxi- pults are then destroyed (he can choose to roll
15'-20', and draft is 3'. Capacity: 40,000 cn plus mum size 30' x 40'. Capacity: 10,000 cn per 100 1d6, with a 1-4 indicating the weapon is
crew. Standard crew: 180 rowers, 20 sailors, 50 square feet. The raft may have raised edges and a wrecked); the crew may use personal weapons
marines, 1 captain. It has a single mast with a tent or wood hut for shelter. It is often disman- normally.
square sail. It can have a ram (1/3 additional cost)
and two light catapults (bow and stern). tled and sold for the value of the wood (1/4 price) When the PCs buy a ship, the DM decides
once the cargo reaches a downstream port. It how many hull points it has, choosing from the
Galley, Small: Similar to the large galley, this may be found as a ferry at a river crossing. range of hull points listed in the Sailing Vessels
ship is built for coastal and lake use. The length Table. As a general rule of thumb, a new ship
is 60'-100', beam is 10'-15', and draft is 2'-3'. Characters can build their own rafts if wood is from a good shipyard will have the maximum
Capacity: 20,000 en plus crew. Standard crew: available—this takes 1d3 days per 100 square listed hull points. A new ship from a less-reliable
60 rowers, 10 sailors, 20 marines, 1 captain. This feet (maximum size 600 square feet). Capacity: shipyard or a well-maintained older ship will
ship can have a ram (1/3 extra cost) and two light 5,000 cn per 100 square feet. have somewhat fewer hull points. And a scurvy
catapults (bow and stern). river barge that's taking on water will have the
Sailing Ship, Large: This is a three-masted lowest possible hull points indeed.
Galley, War: This large, two-masted galley is ship with one or more decks. The length is 100'-
designed for combat; it is often used as a flag- 150', beam is 25'-30', and draft is 10'-12'. Ca- Armor Class: This number is used to deter-
ship. The length is 120'-150', beam is 20'-30', pacity: 300,000 cn plus crew. Standard crew: 20 mine chances of success for ram and catapult at-
and draft is 4'-6'. Capacity: 60,000 cn plus crew. sailors, 1 captain. The bow and stern are raised tacks against a ship.
Standard crew: 300 rowers, 30 sailors, 75 ma- "castles" for better field of fire, and it may have
rines, 1 captain. This ship always has a ram and two light catapults. Ship Modifications
one deck above the rowers has two light wooden Some ships can be modified for transport or
towers (bow and stern), each 10'-20' square, Sailing Ship, Small: Very similar to the large
sailing ship, the small sailing ship has a single combat, with additional costs as follows:
height 15'-20'. It can have three light catapults. mast. The length is 60'-80', beam is 20'-30', and Adding a Ram: A large or small galley may
Lifeboat, Ship's: This vessel can carry up to draft is 5'-8'. Capacity: 100,000 cn plus crew.
Standard crew: 10 sailors, 1 captain.

add a ram for an additional 1/3 of the ship's list- Second-Class: These are decent accommoda- men will not improve its performance. If a crew
ed cost. A war galley already has a ram included tions. The character is in a small cabin with up to is less than full, but at least half the listed num-
in the cost. Other ships may not add rams. three other people; some of them may be stran- ber, the weapon's rate of fire is half normal. If
gers if characters are traveling singly or do not the crew is reduced below half but not below 1 / 4
Troop Transport: A large or small sailing ship arrange to be placed in the same cabin. Service is the listed number, the weapon's rate of fire is di-
may be converted into a troop transport by pay- minimal, but meals are adequate. Each character vided by four. Round down all fractions.
ing an additional 1 / 2 of the ship's listed cost. A has 5,000 cn of cargo space in the hold available
troop transport has 1/3 more hull points than a to him, and he can comfortably fit another 1,000 Damage is the amount of damage each weap-
normal sailing ship, and it carries twice as many cn of gear in his cabin. He can purchase an addi- on can do.
troops as the normal vessel of its type. The one tional 5,000 cn of space in the hold for 1/10 the
troop transport listed on the Sailing Vessels Table cost of his passage. Range should be read as you would for any
is equivalent to a converted large sailing ship. missile weapon. However, the "Min" figure is
Third-Class: These are minimal accommoda- the closest distance at which the weapon can fire
Catapult: A longship, any type of galley, and tions. The character may have a bunk in a large at a target. A light catapult can't fire at anything
either type of sailed warship may add one light common passenger hold; on a smaller boat or closer than 150 yards, for instance. As usual, tar-
catapult beyond the numbers of catapults al- ferry, he may just have a seat open to the sky. If gets are + 1 to hit at short range and — 1 to hit at
ready described for them. The larger sailing this is passage on a ship that can hold 20 people long range.
ships may use heavy catapults instead. Ordinary or more, the price of passage includes 1,000 cn
sailing ships, troop transports, and the smaller of space in the cargo area. A character can keep Fire Rate describes the maximum rate at
vessels not mentioned above cannot mount a another 500 cn of gear near or under his bunk, which the weapon can fire; for example, a con-
catapult. A catapult and 20 rounds of shot weigh and he can purchase another 1,000 cn of space in tinuously manned ballista can fire one projectile
20,000 cn. Catapults are discussed later in this the cargo area for 1/5 the cost of his passage. If every two rounds (20 seconds).
chapter, under "Siege Equipment." this is passage on a raft, ferry, canoe, or other
small vessel, the character has no cargo privileges Ammo Cost/Week reflects the amount of am-
Passage because of space constrictions. He can bring only munition used during a standard week-long
what he can comfortably carry on his person, un- siege. During longer sieges, you'll use the rules
Characters don't have to buy ships in order to less he cares to buy another seat at the same rate. in the "Siege Combat" section of Chapter 8.
get from place to place across the water. They can The additional seat would give him about 2,000 This section has more detailed rules pertaining
book passage on commercial vessels. The Passage cn of room for equipment. Food, if available, is to the use of siege weapons.
Table shows the cost of such transportation based meager and coarse.
on the class of passage and the distance traveled. The "Cost," "Standard Size," and "Enc (cn)"
To use the table, determine how far the character Siege Equipment listed in the Miscellaneous Siege Equipment Ta-
is traveling; divide that distance by the number ble on page 74 are self-explanatory; the remain-
shown, and the result is the cost of passage per Should characters decide to lay siege to a forti- ing columns are as follows:
person (in silver pieces). fication or equip a sailing vessel with heavy
weapons, siege weaponry and miscellaneous AC shows the equipment's own armor class;
For example, an adventurer travels 80 miles at siege information is found in this section. when someone attacks the equipment itself, this
first-class passage. His rate is 80 miles divided by is the armor class he must hit.
1 sp = 80 sp for passage. A different adventurer, Many of the siege weapons described here
traveling the same 80 miles but going by third- need to be operated by trained crews. For sim- AC+ shows the armor class bonus that the
class, would pay 4 sp (80 m i l e s / 2 0 sp = 4 sp). plicity's sake, the DM can assume that 1d6 days equipment provides to those who are protected
spent working with the ballista is sufficient to by it. If an armor class 6 character is inside a bel-
Passage Table Rate Minimum train the crew with it. If the campaign uses the fry, his armor class against outside attackers is a
Miles/1 sp Cost optional General Skills from Chapter 5, the artil- — 2. Once the belfry is destroyed, however, ar-
Class of Miles/5 sp 35 sp lery skill counts as training with every existing mor class is 6.
Passage Miles/20 sp 10 sp type of siege weapon.
First-Class 2 sp HP shows the equipment's hit points; once
Second-Class Weapon information listed in the Siege Weap- the equipment has sustained that number of hit
Third-Class ons Table is as follows: points, it collapses, becomes useless, and ceases
to protect those within it.
The passage classes listed in the Passage Table Cost (gp) shows only the cost of the weapon
are described here and are arranged alphabeti- itself; ammunition costs are shown on another Siege Weapon Descriptions
cally for your convenience. column.
The weapons listed in the Siege Weapons Ta-
First-Class: These are luxurious accommoda- Enc (cn) is the weight of each weapon. ble are described here and are arranged alpha-
tions. The character has his own cabin (two or AC shows the weapon's armor class when fired betically for your convenience.
more people traveling together may book a sin- upon at range; in melee combat, consider siege
gle larger cabin). Service is first-rate, and meals weapons to have ACs of 6. Ballista: A ballista is very similar to a normal
are excellent. Each character has 10,000 cn of HP shows the weapon's hit points. When a crossbow and was actually the crossbow's fore-
cargo space in the hold available, and he can eas- weapon has taken its listed number of hit points, runner. It is much larger (often 5'-10' long) and
ily put another 5,000 cn of space in his cabin. He it is broken and will no longer work. mounted on a platform or wheeled carriage. The
can purchase an extra 10,000 cn of space in the Full Crew indicates the optimum size of a crew ballista described in the Siege Weapons Table is
hold for 1/10 the cost of his passage. to operate this piece of equipment. More crew- the largest one available. It is mounted on
wheels (or on a wagon), or it can be placed on a
pivot. The latter is the case when it is installed on
a ship or a defensive fortification.

Ballista ammunition resembles spears, but

Siege Weapons Table

Cost Enc Full Damage Fire Ammo
(cn) HP Crew Range d10+6
Weapon (gp) 6,000* AC d8 + 8 Rate Cost/Wk.
Ballista 75 4 9 4 100/200/300 (Min: NA) d10 + 10 1 per 2 2,000
Catapult, Light 150 12,000* 4 18 6 200/250/300(Min: 150) d12 + 13 4,000
Catapult, Heavy 250 18,000* 0 27 8 250/325/400 (Min: 175) d6 + 14 Iper5 6,000
Trebuchet 0 36 12 250/400/500 (Min: 100) d6 + 8 8,000
Bore 400 24,000* 50 10 1 per 6
Ram, Battering 50 10 1 per 6
150 3,000 — A 1 per 2
100 3,000 -4 1 per 2

* These weapons may have wheels attached and be towed. Towing encumbrance = 1/12 the listed encumbrance; thus a horse pulling a heavy catapult on
wheels is pulling 1,500 cn.

they have larger heads. The ammunition is near- of his class; for example, a magic-user of lst-5th Another type of ammunition is pitch shot.
ly useless against constructions, but they can in- level has the same attack roll as a fighter of 1st- Pitch shot consists of a large ball of pitch (some-
flict some damage to equipment. They are 3rd level.) If operated by an untrained crew, or times mixed with gravel) loaded into the weapon
designed for use against men, animals, and by a trained crew with no artillerist present, it and lit just before it's fired. Pitch shot does not
monsters. fires as though it were a normal man with a — 8 do normal damage. Where it hits, it does 1d6
penalty to the attack roll. fire damage in a 10' X 10' area; it ignites any
The crew of a ballista must be trained to use flammable targets (such as oil) that it hits.
it, but the weapon does not require that an artil- Ram, Battering: A battering ram is a large,
lerist be present (see "General Skills," in Chap- heavy log or similar device mounted on wheels. Wooden structures can be damaged by pitch
ter 5 for the artillery skill). The log is usually capped with metal. This end is attacks. Damage starts out slowly—instead of
repeatedly slammed against a target (such as a taking 1d6 points of damage, wooden structures
If a ballista is operated by a trained crew, one door or gate), using brute force to cause damage. take only 1 point. But wooden structures at-
of whom is an artillerist, it fires at the fighter ex- tacked by fire can be set afire, causing further
perience level of the artillerist. (If the artillerist is The standard battering ram is 10' long and damage. A building's chance to catch fire is 5%
not a fighter, use the equivalent fighting ability needs a 10-man crew to operate. For a longer per point of damage caused by each fire attack.
of his class; for example, a magic-user of lst-5th ram, add one crewman per extra foot of length. This is cumulative during any one-day period—
level has the same attack roll as a fighter of 1st- A ram can be transported by fewer men than it in other words, a building hit by one fire attack
3rd level.) If operated by a trained crew with no takes to operate it. has a 5% chance to catch fire, a 10% chance on
artillerist present, take the size of the operating the next attack, and so on. Anything set afire
The ram is commonly used by fastening it se- will take 1 point of damage the first round, 3
crew (maximum: 4) and use the size as if it were curely to stout chains attached to a wheeled gal- more points by the end of the first turn, 6 points
the experience level of a fighter; in other words, lery shed ceiling or belfry (see "Miscellaneous the second turn, and 12 points for each turn
the smaller the crew, the worse the attack roll be- Siege Equipment," below). The ram is then easi- thereafter until destroyed.
comes. If operated by an untrained crew, the ly rolled up to and swung against the target.
ballista fires as though it were a normal man When a ram is used in this manner, only one Catapults and trebuchets can use pitch shots;
with a ~8 penalty to the attack roll. man is needed for each 2' of the ram's length; a their firing bowls must be specially reinforced
five-man crew is sufficient for a 10' battering (costing 50 gp) to fire pitch shot. Pitch shot costs
Bore: A bore is a long, heavy loglike device ram. The crew of a battering ram does not have five times as much as normal shot.
hung from chains; its metal tip is similar to a to be trained in its use.
corkscrew. Instead of being carried, it rests with- Miscellaneous Siege
in a cradle of chains so it can be freely rotated. Trebuchet: Somewhat similar to the catapult, Equipment Descriptions
Ropes are wrapped tightly around it and are a trebuchet is a huge wooden bar with a sling at
pulled alternately from each side by two crews of one end, mounted on a wooden frame in seesaw The equipment listed in the Miscellaneous
four men each. fashion. Instead of using ropes and tension to Siege Equipment Table is described here and is
propel it, the bar is mounted on a pivot so that arranged alphabetically for your convenience.
In use, the bore is rolled up to its target (nor- part of the bar projects toward the target. A large
mally the gate of a fortification). Two men hold basket or net is hung from this end and is filled Belfry: A belfry (or siege tower) is a protected
the bore firmly against the target structure while with weights. Ropes are used to pull the long stairway. The standard belfry is a 30' tall build-
the other men, in two groups of four, pull the sling arm down and to hold it for loading. ing on wheels, made of a stout wood frame with
ropes in sequence to rotate the bore—first one thin walls. The walls are covered with uncured or
direction, then the other. The bore actually drills When released, the weights pull the short arm wet animal hides and blankets to minimize fire
its way into the target. The bore does not require downward and the long arm pivots quickly up- damage. The interior of the building contains a
a siege specialist to use, but its crew does need to ward. The sling slows naturally as the weights well-built stairway. One or two doors lead into
be trained in its use. A bore is too slow to attack reach the bottom of the arc and flies open, caus- the building at the base. A drawbridge near the
a mobile target of any sort. ing the shot to fly off in a high, arched trajectory. top of the belfry is controlled from inside. A fi-
The range of fire is determined by the amount of nal set of steps leads to the roof of the belfry,
Catapult: A catapult is a huge wooden weight in the basket or net and by the exact posi- with access protected by a trap door barred on
"spoon" mounted in a wooden frame. Its lower tion of the basket on the short arm of the bar. the inside.
end is fixed by twisted ropes, so that the tension
on the ropes keeps the spoon portion nearly up- If a trebuchet is operated by a trained crew, In use, the belfry is pushed or pulled up to a
right. When the spoon is pulled down, the ropes one of whom is an artillerist, it fires at the fighter wall; troops then enter the doors and climb the
become taut. The spoon is secured in this posi- experience level of the artillerist. (If the artillerist stairway. When ready, they lower the drawbridge
tion, loaded with shot, and released. The spoon is not a fighter, use the equivalent fighting abili- so that it gives access to the top of the adjacent
snaps quickly upward until it hits a horizontal ty of his class; for example, a magic-user of 1st- wall, and then charge across to melee. Some
crossbar and stops; the shot continues on its way, 5th level has the same attack roll as a fighter of troops may take a position atop the belfry, add-
following an arched trajectory. The range varies 1st-3rd level.) If operated by an untrained crew, ing missile fire to the melee atop the wall.
by the amount of tension on the ropes. or by a trained crew with no artillerist present, it
fires as though it were a normal man with a — 8 If a belfry is subjected to fire attack, it takes
A trained artillerist knows the proper amounts penalty to the attack roll. full initial fire damage, but it has only a 5%
of tension for various ranges of fire. Use of the chance to ignite for each 2 points of fire damage
catapult requires the presence of an artillerist. If Alternative Types of Ammunition it sustains. (See the description above for pitch
you are using the General Skills rules from Previously, weapon tables have shown damage shot and see Chapter 8 for more details on fires
Chapter 5, anyone with the artillery skill can and fire fighting.)
captain a catapult. Otherwise, the artillerist and cost factors for normal ammunition. Normal
must be a hired NPC specialist. ammunition is ammunition of a consistent qual- Gallery Shed: This protective device is a wood-
ity, weight, and size. en building with a light frame construction. It
There are two common types of catapults— has side walls but no end walls. The roof is nor-
light and heavy. Either may be mounted on a In the field, characters sometimes have to rely mally covered with animal hides or wet blankets
wheeled carriage for towing, but it must be firm- on available stones and projectiles to launch to minimize fire damage. The standard gallery
ly blocked in place when used. Light catapults from their weapons. This greatly reduces the cost shed is 20' long, 10' wide, and 10' tall. It can be
may also be mounted on ships. of operating a weapon continuously, but is a carried by 20 men, and it gives a -12 bonus to
drain on manpower due to having to find am- the armor class of those within it. A gallery shed
Catapults cannot be fired at moving targets. munition. The DM will decide in any such in- is most often used along with a ram or bore,
stance whether this foraging for ammunition which is suspended by chains from the ceiling of
An exception is the ship-mounted catapult, slows down the rate of fire or diminishes the the shed before advancing on the enemy.
which is aimed by virtue of the ship steering in weapon's effectiveness. Foraged rocks may not
the correct direction; it can only be aimed at very be as accurate as standard ammunition, and the Hoist: A hoist is a machine used to lift small
large monsters and other ships. DM can assign attack roll penalties to those who numbers of troops over or to the top of a wall or
use them. Only catapults and trebuchets may other obstruction. A hoist consists of a light
If a catapult is operated by a trained crew, one utilize found stones.
of whom is an artillerist, it fires at the fighter ex-
perience level of the artillerist. (If the artillerist is
not a fighter, use the equivalent fighting ability

Miscellaneous Siege Equipment Table

Type Cost Standard Enc (en) AC AC + HP
Belfry 25 gp/ft height Size 250,000* 0 -8 75
Gallery Shed 15 gp/ft length 30' tall 4 -12 40
Hoist 5 gp/ft height 10' x 10' X 20' 8,000* 40 15
Ladder 1 gp/10' height 30' tall 12,000* 40
Mantlet 2 gp/ft length 30' tall 0 -4 3
Timber Fort 4 gp/ft length 8' long 900 0 -8 16
8' long 4,800* 32
7,200*

* These weapons may have wheels attached and be towed. Towing encumbrance = 1/12 the listed encumbrance; thus a horse pulling a mantlet on wheels
is pulling only 400 en.

frame, similar to a belfry's, with a long beam
projecting from the top and a pulley on the
beam. A large basket, capable of carrying up to
four men, is raised by ropes through the pulley
and connected to a winch. The rate of ascent var-
ies by the number of crewmen operating the
hoist and by the number of troops in the basket.
A hoist is normally used to raise well-armed or
higher level troops (those who can withstand
some missile fire before engaging in melee) to
the top of a wall.

Ladder: The siege ladder is a large, sturdy ver-
sion of the common ladder. It is most effective
when used by surprise or against defenders al-
ready occupied by attackers from a belfry or
hoist. Used alone, ladders are easily toppled or
broken by defenders.

To topple a ladder, take the number of de-
fenders trying to topple the ladder (numbers
greater than four count as four) and multiply
that number by four. The attacker (on the lad-
der) must roll above that result on 1d20 as a sav-
ing throw each round or the ladder is toppled.
The attacker may attempt this save once per
round.

Mantlet: A mantlet is a wooden wall, built
with wheels for easy movement. The standard
mantlet is 8' long and 4' high and can shield up
to five men. Those protected by the mantlet gain
a - 4 bonus to armor class. Mantlets are often
used by troops who are pushing a belfry up to a
wall and by those operating or waiting for use of
a hoist.

Timber Fort: A timber fort is a heavy wooden
wall built in sections. It is movable only with dif-
ficulty. Each section of the wall is 8' long and 4'-
5' high. Those protected by a timber fort gain a
- 8 bonus to armor class.
Final Notes on Siege Weapons

Special additional rules for these weapons ap-
pear elsewhere in this book in the "Siege Ma-
chine" section of Chapter 8.

wo types or special abilities (called weapon bastard swords, depending on how he has allot- does with the weapon and the greater number of
mastery and general skills) can be used by ted his weapon choices. One exception is the special results he can achieve with the weapon.
player characters in campaign games. These two net; training with the net allows a character to The different levels of mastery are detailed un-
sets of abilities are optional; the Dungeon Mas- use small nets one-handed and larger nets two- der "Training," next.
ter decides whether they will be used in his or handed, so the net has only one entry on the
her world. Weapons Mastery Table. Training
Weapon mastery is a character's ability to use
weapons with greater skill than the game nor- Basic level of ability is the same level of ability Although characters can gain basic levels of
mally allows. All characters, not just fighters, you're already familiar with; basic level allows mastery simply by expending weapon choices,
can learn to use weapon mastery. the character to use the weapon effectively by characters cannot attain higher levels in the same
General skills are abilities that characters can way. Once the character has spent his 1st level
learn and use in the campaign. Few general skills doing the damage and special functions listed on choices, to gain additional knowledge of the use
are useful in combat, but many are helpful the Weapons Table in Chapter 4. However, a of a weapon he must be trained by someone who
throughout the course of a campaign; they also character does not have to use every weapon has equal or greater knowledge of that specific
help define the character and make him or her weapon. That someone could be another PC,
seem more real. choice he has to buy basic level of ability with a but it is usually an NPC teacher found during
new weapon. Instead, he can choose to specialize adventures or through word-of-mouth. In some
Weapon Mastery by applying his weapon choices to a weapon he campaigns, weapon masters run academies
already knows, thus improving his ability with where they teach the proper use of specific weap-
In the D&D® combat system, each character that weapon. These degrees of ability are called ons; sword academies are common. In other
automatically knows how to use every weapon levels of mastery and are listed in the Levels of campaigns, mystics may allow nonmystics to
available to his character class for use. The fol- Weapon Mastery Table. learn at their monasteries; many mystics are
lowing system gives player characters the option weapon masters.
to either study one weapon in depth or to study a Weapon Choices by Experience Level Table
few weapons to a less intense degree. When a Demihumans can train to reach higher levels
character is using the weapon(s) he has mas- Experience Weapon Choices by of weapon mastery just as human characters can.
tered, he has an advantage over those who have However, demihumans are eligible to train only
not studied these weapons. Level Character Class: at levels 4 and 8 (and level 12 for dwarves) and at
1 every 200,000 experience points after reaching
Weapon Choices 3 Fighters All Others their maximum level.
6 42
With the weapon mastery rules, when a hu- 9 53 After finding a trainer who will provide the
man character is started, he does not know how 64 necessary instruction, the student must pay all of
to use any weapons. He is given weapon choices 11 75 the required costs before training can begin. The
so that he may choose to learn individual weap- 15 86 costs and time required for weapon training vary
ons. Demihumans do not gain or use weapon 19 97 by the level of mastery sought, and they are list-
choices; due to their longer lifespans and 23 10 7 ed in the Training Times and Costs Table.
wilderness-oriented lifestyles, demihuman char- 27 11 8
acters start with basic skill in all weapons not re- 30 12 8 A student can train only to the next rank of
stricted from their classes. However, 33 ability above his own. He can go from Basic to
demihumans can increase their weapon mastery 36* 13 9 Skilled, for example, and next time go from
through training, as outlined below. 14 9 Skilled to Expert, but he can never jump straight
15 10 from Basic to Expert.
Number of Weapon Choices
Fighters start off at 1st level with four weapon * + 1 weapon choice per 200,000 XP above A student can train in the hope of achieving
the character's maximum experience level. the next level of mastery—and yet fail to do so.
choices; all other character classes start off with The student character has a chance of failure ap-
two. Levels of Weapon Mastery Table plied to each training period. His chances of suc-
cess and failure vary by the mastery levels of
Human characters gain one new weapon Number of Weapon Level of himself and his trainer, as given in the Chance of
choice at each of the following experience levels: Choices Spent Mastery Training Success Table. From the character's per-
3 , 6 , 9, 11, 15, 23, 30, and 36. Fighters also gain 0 Unskilled spective, failure may occur because the trainer
weapon choices at levels 19, 27, and 33. All char- 1 has insufficient knowledge or lacks the ability to
acters gain one new weapon choice for every Basic train others or because the student cannot fully
200,000 experience points they earn above their 2 Skilled absorb the new information.
maximum experience level. Expert
3 Master Failure does nor mean that the character has
The Weapon Choices by Experience Level Ta- 4 Grand Master lost his weapon choice for that experience level.
ble shows the character's number of weapon 5 The weapon choice is still there, and it's still
choices. dedicated to the weapon and level of mastery he
At 1st experience level, a character must has chosen for it. The student has lost the time
What to Do With Weapon Choices spend all his weapon choices on different weap- and money he has spent, but he may spend more
For each weapon choice he has, a character ons; he may not yet progress beyond basic ability time and money until he reaches the level of
with any weapon. He may spend subsequent mastery for which he has spent his weapon
may choose to learn one weapon at the basic choice.
level of ability. By "one weapon," we mean pre- weapon choices to either buy basic ability with a
cisely that—one weapon from the Weapons Mas- new weapon or to gain the opportunity to im- The chance of success is checked halfway
tery Table used in one fashion only. One prove his level of mastery with a weapon he al-
weapon, for example, might mean a "normal ready knows.
sword"; it does not mean "all swords."
In general, the higher a character's level of
When a weapon can be used in two different mastery with a weapon, the more damage he
fashions (i.e., one-handed and two-handed, as
with the bastard sword), a weapon choice buys Training Times and Costs Table Time Cost Per
only one of those fashions. A character can have Required (wks)
different levels of mastery, for example, with Level of Week (gp)
one-handed bastard swords and two-handed 1 100
Mastery Sought 250
Basic (new weapon) 2 500
Skilled 750
Expert 4
Master 1,000
Grand Master 8

12

Chance of Training Success Table Attack and Defense Benefits

Student's Basic Skilled Trainer's Knowledge Master Grand Master There are a number of attack and defense
60% 99% benefits available to characters when using the
Knowledge 80% Expert 90% 99% weapon mastery rules. These are outlined in the
None 1% 50% 95% 60% 95% following text.
Basic 70% 30% 80%
Skilled 1% 40% 50% Opponent Type and Damage Bonuses
Expert 1% 20% Many damage increases and attack roll bo-
Master 1%
Grand Master 1% nuses vary with the type of opponent. Oppo-
nents that attack with two-handed missile fire
through the training period, and the student is Skilled Weapons Use devices have similar defenses to those that attack
immediately informed of the results. (In the with natural body weaponry. This type of oppo-
role-playing situation, this usually consists of the When using the weapon mastery rules, the nent is designated "M" (for Missile or Monster)
teacher taking the student aside and telling him weapons from last chapter's Weapons Table ac- on the Weapons Mastery Table.
that he is not ready yet and that it is useless for quire new abilities and damage ranges. All these
him to continue at this time.) The student may new bonuses, damage types, and special uses are Defense is very different for opponents using
then either continue (despite his teacher's rec- given in the Weapons Mastery Table in this chap- hand-held weapons that are swung (such as
ommendation) or stop the training. ter. Weapons that were nearly identical in the swords and axes) or thrown (such as daggers and
previous rules become much more distinctive bolas) and opponents using missile-fire weapons
If the success roll failed but the student de- here. that need only one hand (slings, short blowguns,
cides to continue training for the full period, the preloaded light crossbows). On the Weapons
student may then study the same level again but Characters might choose to specialize in a par- Mastery Table, these opponents are designated
with a different trainer, and his chance of success ticular weapon because of its better damage "H" (for Hand-held).
is increased by 10%. against weapon-using opponents, or they might
choose a weapon for its special uses (such as par- If an opponent could fit into both categories
If the student chooses to stop the training rying blows or tripping opponents). (such as a wererat carrying a sword, who has both
midway, he may then study the same level with a natural body weaponry and a hand-held weap-
different master at the same chance for success. The DM may modify the Weapons Mastery Ta- on), the character attacking that opponent uses
The two advantages to this option are that the ble if he chooses, either by adjusting listed weap- his weapon's damage results that are most favor-
character does not lose the rest of the time he on characteristics or by adding new weapons. He able to the opponent (not to the attacker!).
would spend with the first teacher and that the should not add any new weapons that are signifi- However, if this type of opponent drops the
first teacher normally refunds half the cost of cantly more powerful than the ones listed in the weapon it holds, it immediately becomes cate-
training. (Chaotic teachers might not offer re- table; new weapons should be assigned balanced gory M for all calculations.
funds.) benefits and weaknesses.
Most weapons are better when attacking one
As you can see from the Chance of Training Types of Benefits or the other of these defense categories. On the
Success Table, it is possible (1% chance) for a Characters gain several benefits from weapon Weapons Mastery Table, each weapon's listing
character to learn a superior level of weapon mas- shows a primary opponent (the category of de-
tery from a teacher who is actually the character's mastery. These benefits include extra damage, fense against which the weapon is most effective)
equal. (Such unusual training matches usually attack roll bonuses, improved range with mis- and a secondary opponent (the other category,
end up with the teacher realizing and announc- siles and thrown weapons, ability to throw some against which it is less effective). A few weapons
ing that his student has surpassed him: "Now, hand-to-hand weapons, bonuses to armor class, are equally good against both target types; they
you are the master, and I am the student!") and other special results (stunning, paralysis, en- bear the table notation [P = A], where "A"
However, learning from an equal-level teacher is tanglement, etc.). stands for All.
very difficult to do. Whenever possible, the stu-
dent should find a teacher who is more skilled Applying Benefits Attack Roll Bonuses
than he is; when that isn't possible, however, he Some maneuvers and special weapon effects in Characters with skilled or better weapon mas-
will have to train with a teacher who is his equal.
these rules provide bonuses to attack rolls in teries receive bonuses to the attack roll with the
At the more advanced levels, characters are combat. These benefits are applied before other mastered weapons, as noted in the Attack Roll
likely to train with their equals and just as likely modifiers. Using this method, high-experience Bonuses Table. When the character successfully
to fail their chance to succeed the first time fighters and demihumans might gain enough completes training and achieves a new level of
around. Most characters will choose to finish bonuses to bring the attack roll needed to 2 or weapon mastery, he gains his new applicable at-
training with that teacher anyway so that they less, activating their Multiple Attacks option. tack roll bonuses and all other special weapon
will have a 10% bonus with the next teacher (Multiple Attacks are described in the "Combat benefits from the new level of mastery (listed in
they train under. Obviously, it takes quite a Maneuvers" section in Chapter 8.) the Weapons Mastery Table and described in the
while to attain the grand master level of compe- weapon descriptions section below).
tency. Other weapon mastery benefits can be applied
during the normal course of the combat se- Attack Roll Bonuses Table
Unskilled Weapons Use quence. Benefits such as the greater damage
available can be a crucial factor when doubled by Level of Bonus Bonus
A character who is not trained in any weapon a thief's Backstab ability.
(i.e., he has not devoted even one weapon choice Mastery vs. Primary vs. Secondary
to a weapon) is classified as unskilled. Some benefits can occur only if the player an- Unskilled No bonus No bonus
nounces that his character is deliberately using Basic No bonus No bonus
If an unskilled character uses a weapon, the them (such as deflecting, disarming, etc.). The Skilled +1
weapon has its basic mastery characteristics and player must always tell the DM he is using one of Expert +2 +2
bonuses or penalties, but it does only half dam- these options. He must mention this use before Master +4 +4
age. Thus, if an unskilled character uses a weap- he rolls to hit. It is too late to mention it after the Grand Master +6 +6
on that does 1d8 points of damage, he will roll die has been cast. +8
1d8 and then halve the result (rounding frac-
tions down) for the actual damage. Missile weap- Armor class bonuses gained through weapon Even with the additional bonuses gained from
ons used at the unskilled mastery level also mastery should be applied automatically in all weapon mastery, don't forget to apply a charac-
receive a - 1 penalty to attack rolls. applicable situations. However, players may ter's Strength adjustment to all melee attack rolls
want to remind the DM once or twice. and to melee and thrown-weapon damage rolls.

Also apply his Dexterity adjustment to all
thrown and missile attack rolls.

Improved Range Opponents must be above animal intelligence to follows:
A character at skilled or better mastery with a be affected. Basic—no despair effect possible.
Skilled—up to 4 hit dice or levels.
ranged weapon can often fire or hurl it farther Targets that fail their morale rolls try to flee or Expert—up to 8 hit dice or levels.
than someone less accomplished. All notes on surrender at their next opportunity. The DM Master—up to 12 hit dice or levels.
improved weapon ranges are on the Weapons should describe the expressions of the monsters Grand Master—up to 16 hit dice or levels.
Mastery Table. Remember that the ranges for who've had to make special despair morale When the despair effect is turned on a group,
thrown and missile weapons are calculated in checks, but he or she shouldn't describe whether
feet in indoor settings and in yards in outdoor the monsters successfully made their rolls until it always affects the lowest-level (or lowest-HD)
combat. it's time for them to act. enemies first.

Throwing Ability With Hand-to-Hand Weapons When to Roll for Despair: The DM should Frequency of Use: A weapon master can only
Weapon masters can throw some weapons that have affected monsters and NPCs make their use his despair ability once per fight (once the
morale rolls under any of the following circum- current situation leaves the combat sequence,
other character's can't throw effectively. Masters of stances: the fight is over).
battle axes, clubs and torches, war hammers, bas- • The weapon user inflicts maximum possible
tard swords, normal swords, and short swords can Other Notes
throw these in combat starting at the expert level damage with his weapon.
of mastery. Ranges for these weapons are given on • The weapon user avoids all damage in a round When choosing a character's weapons, keep
the Weapons Mastery Table, and there are rules the character in mind; be sure to select the weap-
for rarely thrown weapons after the table. by deflecting the opponent's blows. (Deflect- ons the character (not necessarily the player!)
ing is described in the section on descriptions would choose. Be aware of standard weapon re-
Bonuses to the Wielder's Armor Class of special effects after the Weapons Mastery strictions. Halflings can only use small weapons,
When a character is using a weapon he has Table.) for example.
• The weapon user disarms two or more oppo-
mastered, he gains an armor class bonus (above nents in the same round. Weapons that do a wide range of damage are
any he might receive from his armor or defensive The DM may choose to check for despair dur- present in each category. Low damage is usually
maneuvers). The armor class bonus he receives ing other special situations if he desires. offset by special benefits. Once a suitable weap-
applies only to a given number of attacks per on is found, review the other weapons within
round. That number is given on the Weapons PC Victims of Despair: Player characters un- that category with comparable damage or special
Mastery Table, and it may apply to M (Missile/ der a despair effect must make a saving throw vs. effects and consider the weapon's potential
Monster) attackers, H (Hand-held) attackers, or death ray. If they succeed, they are merely im- (available with further training). Weapon mas-
A (All) attackers, as shown on the table. For ex- pressed; those who fail must retreat in awe for tery choices, once taken, cannot be changed.
ample, if the table says that the character has M: 1d6 rounds.
-2AC/2, it means that he gets a — 2 armor class Remember that weapon mastery bonuses ap-
bonus against the first two attacks made against Numbers Affected: The despair effect can on- ply only when the character is using the weapon
him that round by missiles or monster attackers. ly affect a certain number of enemies at a time. he has mastered, not when he uses other weap-
Likewise, A: —6AC/3 indicates that the charac- This varies with the character's level of mastery as ons, even similar ones.
ter gets a - 6 armor class bonus against the first
three attacks made against him that round by
any missile or monster attacker.

Some shields do not have a number after a
slash mark; that means that the shield provides
the character an additional armor class benefit all
the time the shield is held, not just for a certain
number of attacks per round.

Having an armor class bonus does not count as
a maneuver; the character may still move and at-
tack at normal rates.

Defensive Maneuvers
In addition to the above armor class bonuses,

a character may have an armor class adjustment
due to Fighting Withdrawal and Parry defensive
maneuvers, as described in Chapter 8.

Special Results

Weapon masters can do some amazing things
with their weapons; they get "more perform-
ance" out of the weapons they've mastered.
Most of the special results are listed in the "Spe-
cial Effects" column of the Weapons Mastery Ta-
ble and are described in the section on
descriptions of special effects, which follows the
table.

However, one special result is common to all
weapons: the despair effect.

Despair Effect
A weapon master's amazing ability with his

weapon can cause despair and fear in some oppo-
nents. This is called the despair effect. When it
happens, the targets affected must make a
standard morale check (described in Chapter 8).





How to Read the Weapon Special Effects: This column summarizes the quent roll of 5 or less on 1d10, a blade breaks.
Mastery Table weapon's special abilities; you will need to read Charge: If the wielder charges 20 yards or
the text after the table to understand what these
The columns on the table provide the follow- notations mean. Certain weapons have an addi- more and strikes his target, the victim takes dou-
ing information: tional symbol ("§") in this column; this symbol ble damage.
indicates that these weapons have special effects
Weapon: This column gives not only the beyond the other weapons' special effects. Read Death: The victim is reduced to 0 hit points.
weapon name but also many other details about the following text for more information on these Deflect: In addition to any attacks, the wield-
its use; compare the symbols beneath the weap- particular weapons. er of this weapon may attempt to deflect the
on name to the list of abbreviations at the bot- number of melee and thrown weapon attacks in-
tom of the table. The "§" Notation dicated in one round. To deflect each attack, the
Five weapons—the blackjack, blowgun, bola, character must make a saving throw vs. death
Lvl: This heading stands for "level of mas- ray.
tery." Each weapon has statistics listed for five net, and whip—are listed on the Weapons Mas- Delay: The victim hit by this weapon must
different levels of mastery. If your character has tery Table with an "§" symbol in their "Special make a saving throw or lose initiative the next
expert mastery with a normal sword, he'd find Effects" column. This means you need to refer round. If the type of saving throw is not speci-
the entry for normal sword and skip down to the to the following Special Effects Tables to see
line labeled "EX" (for Expert) in this column. what else these weapons do to their victims. fied, it is a saving throw vs. paralysis. For missile
attacks, this effect occurs only at the indicated
Ranges: This column shows the weapon's Special Effects Descriptions ranges.
range when thrown or launched. Not all weap-
ons have ranges listed. Note that the weapon's The special effects listed for weapons in the Disarm: The wielder of this weapon may at-
range increases with each new level of mastery. Weapons Mastery Table are described here and tempt to disarm an opponent instead of making
are arranged alphabetically for your conven- a normal attack. The attacker must roll to hit the
Damage: This column shows the damage the ience. target. The victim can save his weapon by rolling
weapon does. Damage, too, increases with each less than or equal to his Dexterity on 1d20. If the
new level of mastery. This column often has sep- Breaks: Whenever the wielder of a shield attacker has the Disarm Combat option, the vic-
arate entries for "P" and "S"—the weapon does weapon or his foe rolls the exact number needed tim must add a +5 penalty to his die roll. The
different amounts of damage to its primary and to hit the other, there is a chance that one of the DM should determine Dexterity scores for NPCs
secondary target types. shield weapon's blades will break. With a subse- and monsters or else assume a Dexterity score of
11. In addition, for each level of mastery the at-
Defense: This column shows the effects the tacker has gained beyond basic, the victim suf-
weapon has on the armor class of its wielder. fers a penalty of +1 to his roll vs. the effect.

Special Effects Table One: Blowgun and Net Double Damage: On a natural roll of the
number(s) indicated, the weapon inflicts double
Victim's Bonus to Results of Failed Saving Throw damage.
Level or Saving Blowgun Net
Hit Dice Throw Death Entangle Entangle: An entangled victim cannot attack,
Up to 1 None Loss of 75% hp + paralysis Entangle cast spells, or move. The victim may make a sav-
1 + 1 to 3 Loss of 50% hp + paralysis Slow ing throw vs. death ray each round to escape.
3 +1 to 6 +1 Loss of 50% hp
6 + 1 to 9 +2 Slow Hook: Instead of making a normal attack, the
9 + 1 to 12 +3 Delay wielder of this weapon may attempt to hook and
12 + 1 to 16 +4 Loss of 25% hp Delay
16 + 1 or more +5 Loss of 25% hp pull down a foe. The attacker must roll to hit.
Save vs.: +5 Loss of 10% hp Delay This causes the minimum damage possible for
Poison Death Ray the weapon; the victim must make a saving
throw vs. paralysis or fall down. A +4 bonus to
Special Effects Table Two: Blackjack attack rolls applies when attacking a fallen foe. A
fallen foe also has a — 4 penalty to all saving
Victim's Bonus to Results of Failed Saving Throw throws and a - 2 penalty to attack rolls while on
Level or Saving Expert/ Grand the ground. A character can stand up in one
Hit Dice Throw Basic/ Master Master round.
Up to 1 None Skilled
Knockout Knockout Knockout Ignite: Fire has a chance to ignite anything
1 + 1 to 3 +1 Knockout Knockout Knockout flammable that it hits. The chance is equal to
3 +1 to 6 Knockout Knockout 5% (rolled on 1dl00) per point of damage
6 +1 to 9 +2 Stun caused in each round. If an item ignites it will
9 + 1 to 12 +3 Stun Stun Knockout burn for 1d6 rounds causing 1d4 points of dam-
12 + 1 to 16 +4 Delay Stun Stun
16 + 1 or more +5 Delay Delay Stun age each round.
Save vs.: +5 Knockout: The victim is rendered unconscious
Delay Delay Delay
Death Ray for 1dl00 rounds.
Death Ray Death Ray No Off-Hand Penalty: If a campaign is using

Special Effects Table Three: Bola and Whip the optional Two Weapons Combat rules (see
Chapter 8 and consult the DM), the cestus does
Victim's Bonus to Results of Failed Saving Throw not take a - 4 penalty or the -1 weapon mas-
Level or Saving Grand tery level penalties when used in the off-hand. If
Hit Dice Throw Basic/ Expert/ the character uses two cesti, he can strike with
Up to 1 None Skilled Master Master both weapons at the same chance for success.
1 + 1 to 3 Entangle Entangle Entangle
3 +1 to 6 +1 Entangle Paralysis: Paralysis freezes a creature in place
+2 Entangle Entangle for 1-6 turns. A paralyzed creature is aware of
6 + 1 to 9 +3 Entangle Entangle what is happening but cannot move, attack,
9 + 1 to 12 +4 Slow talk, or cast spells. Any cure spell can negate the
12 + 1 to 16 +5 Slow Slow Entangle effects of paralysis, but they do not cure damage
16 + 1 or more +5 Delay Slow in addition to removing the paralysis.
Slow
Save vs.: Poison: See the Special Effects Tables One-
Delay Delay Slow Three for effects.

Delay Delay Delay Second Attack: The wielder is able to make a
Death Ray second attack with this shield weapon while at-
Death Ray Death Ray tacking with another one-handed weapon in his

other hand. This second attack is made with no Bill: This weapon uses poleaxe statistics and tery. If the character still has any weapon choices
off-hand penalty. deflect scores. In addition, the bill has the hook left, his player can assign them as he pleases to
ability of a halberd. buy Basic masteries with other weapons; he can-
Set vs. Charge: If the wielder is aware of a not buy higher than basic mastery for these addi-
charging enemy, he may set this weapon against Gisarme: This polearm uses pike statistics and tional weapons.
the charge. A charge only takes place when the deflect scores. The gisarme also has the hook
enemy rushes the wielder at 20 yards (or more) ability of a halberd. When fitting these rules into an existing cam-
this round. If the wielder's weapon hits the paign, the DM should not allow a character to
charging foe, it inflicts double listed damage. Glaive: This weapon uses poleaxe statistics buy a weapon skill above expert level unless the
and deflect scores. The glaive causes double character is at 24th experience level or greater.
Skewer: If the target has no more than the damage like a dagger. This weapon may be set He or she should not allow a character to buy a
number of Hit Dice indicated, the wielder of vs. a charge. weapon skill above master level unless the char-
this weapon may decide to skewer him instead of acter is already 30th level or better.
strike him normally. A normal attack consists of Lochaber Axe: This polearm follows all of the
striking the target and withdrawing the trident halberd rules, but the lochaber axe may also stun Refer to "Reality Shift" in Chapter 13 for ad-
for another attack; with the skewer, the attacker at the highest two masteries. ditional suggestions about coping with sudden
thrusts his trident into the target and twists it so retroactive changes in a campaign.
that it is not easily extracted. Once the weapon Partizan: This weapon follows all the pike
hits, it is stuck; it will remain stuck for ld4 + 4 rules, but the partizan may also disarm. This Weapon-Using Monsters
(5-8) rounds, after which time the victim's weapon may be set vs. a charge.
movements will cause it to come free. For each Monsters may use weapon mastery rules if
round a victim remains skewered, he automati- Ranseur: This polearm uses halberd statistics they ordinarily use weapons to attack. Just as
cally takes 1d6 points of damage. and deflect scores. The ranseur may also be used with player characters, a monster must find a
to disarm at skilled level and above. This weapon trainer willing to teach it. Its maximum possible
Slow: The victim is slowed and can move and may be set vs. a charge. skill is determined by its Intelligence, as given in
attack at only half his normal movement rates. the Mastery Limits for Weapon-Using Monsters
He can cast no spells while slowed. Spetum: This weapon uses pike statistics and Table. (See Chapter 13 for advice on determin-
deflect scores. The spetum may also disarm at ing monster Intelligence scores.)
Strangle: If the attacker makes a natural roll of skilled or greater mastery. It may be set vs. a
the number(s) indicated, the victim must make charge. Note that only humans and demihumans can
a successful saving throw vs. death ray or become become grand masters; monsters cannot.
immediately paralyzed and die in ld6 + 2 (3-8) Spontoon: This polearm uses spear statistics,
rounds unless rescued. If the victim escapes, he but it may not be thrown. It uses the deflect Mastery Limits for Weapon-Using Monsters
survives but remains paralyzed for 2d6 (2-12) scores of a halberd. The spontoon does double Table
rounds. damage like a dagger and may be set vs. a
charge. Monster Maximum Level of
Stun: If the victim is approximately the same Weapon Mastery
size as the attacker or smaller, he is stunned if he Voulge: This weapon uses poleaxe statistics, Intelligence Basic
fails a saving throw vs. death ray. A stunned but it causes + 2 points of damage. The voulge Up to 11 Skilled
character moves at 1/3 speed and cannot attack or uses the deflect scores for a halberd. It may cause 12-15 Expert
cast spells. The character also has a +2 armor double damage like a dagger. 16-17 Master
class penalty and a — 2 saving throw penalty. A 18 +
stunned character can make a saving throw vs. Throwing Rarely Thrown
death ray each round to recover from the stun Weapons General Skills
effect. For missile weapons, this effect occurs on-
ly at the specified ranges. Several of the weapons listed in the Weapons General skills are abilities that characters can
Mastery Table, while normally used in melee, use in the campaign. There are many general
Individual Weapon can be thrown by a wielder at high levels of mas- skills, but no character will have more than a few
Descriptions tery in desperate situations. of them, so a character's choice of skills will help
make him more distinctive and more individu-
Some of the weapons on the Weapons Mastery To throw these weapons, the attacker must ally useful in some campaign situations.
Table are marked with either one or two aster- make a normal attack roll modified by Strength
isks. When a weapon is marked with one asterisk (but not by Dexterity). Using general skills is optional. If the DM
(*), refer to last chapter's Weapon Descriptions doesn't want to use them in his or her campaign,
to learn about the item's special characteristics. Since the maneuver is unexpected, the attack- they won't be used.
If a weapon is marked with two asterisks (**), er first checks to see if his foe is surprised (a roll
that weapon is described here. Items are ar- of 1 or 2 on 1d6). If the victim is not surprised, Beginning Skills
ranged alphabetically for your convenience. the victim makes a saving throw vs. death ray to
reduce damage by half. If he is surprised or if he All 1st level characters start with four "blank"
Blowguns: A victim hit by a poisoned blow- fails his saving throw, he takes full damage from skills, often called slots. (When a skill is chosen,
gun dart fired by someone with skilled or better the attack. it stops being a slot.)
weapon mastery makes his saving throws at a
penalty. The weapon master knows how to accu- Retroactive Weapon Characters who have an Intelligence of more
rately fire the dart into veins, arteries, and other Mastery than 12 start with more than four skill slots. If
critical areas, thus introducing the poison more the character has an Intelligence of 13-15, he
quickly into the bloodstream. If a campaign has already begun but the DM gets 1 additional skill slot; if his Intelligence is
would like to add weapon mastery to it, it's not 16-17, he gets 2 additional skill slots; and if his
Polearms, Other: The last chapter mentioned too late. The DM should start by carefully exam- Intelligence is 18, he gets 3 additional skill slots.
that traits of the halberd, pike, and poleaxe ining each character. Characters often have a few
could be combined to individualize the other favorite weapons. Assume that these are the Different things determine which skills are
types of polearm mentioned. This is an optional character's preferences; these will be the weap- chosen to fill the character's slots. The player
rule to be used if the DM wishes these weapons ons for which the character has learned increased may choose some or all of the skills to fill his
to be individualized. These additional polearms mastery, while the knowledge of the proper use available skill slots. Or the DM may insist that
are detailed as follows: of other weapons has faded through lack of use. the player select certain skill choices appropriate
for the character background the player has cho-
Bardiche: This polearm uses halberd statistics The DM may then give the character the num- sen.
but also has the deflect abilities of the pike. The ber of weapon choices appropriate for his class
bardiche may be set vs. a charge. and experience level. Weapons that are the char-
acter's personal trademark can be bought up to
expert mastery; weapons that the character uses
frequently can be bought up to skilled mastery;
weapons that the character has been known to
use effectively should be bought to basic mas-

How Skills Are Used Skills Descriptions Sample Skills Table

Each skill is based on one of the character's The skills listed in the Sample Skills Table are Strength Skills
ability scores (Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, described here and are arranged alphabetically Intimidation
Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma). for your convenience. Roll skill rolls against the Muscle
ability under which these skills were listed in the Wrestling
Whenever the DM feels a character's selected table.
skill is appropriate to a game situation, he or she Intelligence Skills
will ask the player to roll 1d20 against the corres- Acrobatics: The character with this skill can Alchemy
ponding ability score. This is called a skill roll or perform impressive acrobatic feats, balance on Alternate Magics
skill check. If the roll on the 1d20 is equal to or taut ropes and wires, etc. A successful skill roll is Art (choose type)
less than the ability score, the skill use succeeds. required to perform any acrobatic feat; failure Artillery
A roll of 20 always fails, no matter how high the may result in the character falling. A successful Craft (choose type)
chance for success. roll allows a character to reduce the effective Disguise
height of a fall by 10'. A DM can give an acro- Engineering
Example: If the character is riding a horse and batic character a +2 to save vs. mechanical traps Fire-Building
the horse is suddenly spooked and begins rear- where agility would help—such as tilting floors Healing
ing, the DM will decide that the character's Rid- and pit traps. Many entertainers, thieves, and Hunting
ing skill is appropriate to check in this situation. nimble warriors have this skill. This skill is not Knowledge (choose type)
The player will roll 1d20 against his skill-related the equal of a mystic's acrobatics ability, but the Labor
ability score (Dexterity). If the character's Dex- mystic's special ability can be presumed to in- Language (choose type)
terity is 15, the player has only to roll a 15 or less clude this skill; a mystic does not have to pur- Lip Reading
to use his Riding skill successfully. chase the acrobatics skill. Magical Engineering
Mapping / Cartography
Successfully rolling the skill normally allows Acting: This is the ability to make one's living Military Tactics
the character to accomplish the task he is at- as a stage actor, but it also imparts the ability to Mimicry
tempting. For instance, if a character is trying to assume a different personality or to show false Nature Lore
track an animal through the forest and he suc- emotions. Successful use of this skill allows a Navigation
cessfully makes his Tracking skill check, then he character to tell convincing lies over a limited Planar Geography
is able to follow the tracks of his prey. period of time. Profession (choose type)
Science (choose type)
Sample Skills Alchemy: This skill provides the ability to rec- Shipbuilding
ognize and identify common alchemical sub- Signaling (choose type)
The Sample Skills Table lists a number of skills stances, potions, and poisons. Success with this Snares
appropriate to most D&D® game campaigns. skill will allow a character to create an antidote Survival (choose terrain)
The players and the DM may add skills to this list potion for one specific type of poison—if the Tracking
as the DM sees fit. The DM determines which DM says that this is possible in his campaign. Veterinary Healing
ability score pertains to each new skill.
Alertness: Successful uses of this skill allow the Wisdom Skills
Animal Training (choose type)
Art (choose type)
Bravery
Caving
Ceremony (choose specific immortal]
Danger Sense
Detect Deception
Gambling
Law and Justice (choose culture)
Mysticism

Dexterity Skills
Acrobatics —
Alertness
Blind Shooting
Cheating
Escape
Mountaineering
Piloting (choose type)
Quick Draw
Riding (choose type)
Stealth (choose terrain)

Constitution Skills
Endurance
Food Tasting

Charisma Skills
Acting
Bargaining
Deception
Leadership
Music (choose type)
Persuasion
Singing
Storytelling

character to draw a weapon without losing any cavern complexes, rivers, etc. A character with check is required for each character or group of
time, to avoid the effects of surprise, and to this skill will automatically know the route he characters that the disguised character is trying
wake up at the slightest out-of-place noise. has taken to get where he is (if he was conscious to fool with his disguise. The target that the dis-
all the time). Many dwarves have this skill. guised character is trying to fool must make a
Alternate Magics: This skill gives a character Wisdom roll against the Disguise roll in order to
basic familiarity with magics that are not related The Caving skill can also be used in a maze. penetrate the disguise (see "Using Skills Against
to standard spellcasting. It includes knowing Skill checks are necessary when the character has Each Other" at the end of this chapter).
many magical abilities of well-known Prime become disoriented. If he is forced to flee for a
Plane and extraplanar monsters and of Immortal long stretch, he must make a skill check to keep Endurance: This skill gives the character the
beings. The DM defines what types of knowl- from being lost. (Characters without this skill ability to perform a tiring task for long periods of
edge this skill provides in his or her campaign. automatically become lost in such a situation.) time. A successful check means that the charac-
ter is able to run (or perform some demanding
Animal Training (choose type): The character Ceremony (choose specific Immortal): A char- task) for an hour without collapsing. The charac-
knows how to raise, train, and care for one type acter with this skill knows how to honor an Im- ter must make another check each hour he per-
of animal. The animal can be taught some sim- mortal through ritual and ceremony; the skill forms the task, with a cumulative penalty of +1
ple tricks or simple orders. A character who allows a cleric character to perform normal rituals for each extra hour. Once the character has com-
wants to train two or more different animal types of his clerical order and could even (if the DM pleted his task or fails a skill roll and collapses,
must choose this skill more than once—Horse allows) permit a character to gain an Immortal's he must rest for three times the amount of time
Training is one skill, Dog Training is another. attention (through devout prayer, fasting, sacri- he was performing that task.
However, a horse trainer can train any sort of fice of possessions, etc.). This skill includes
natural horse or pony and a dog trainer can train knowing the code of behavior and the rituals Engineering: This is the skill of planning, de-
any breed of dog. Any culture that features a pleasing to the Immortal. signing, and building large constructions such as
strong bond with some animal type will have houses, bridges, dams, and so forth. Unless built
many members with the corresponding Animal In earlier D&D® game products, this skill was under the eye of a trained engineer, a large
Training skill. often referred to as "Honor (specific immortal)." structure—whether built by manpower and ma-
terials or pure magic—will inevitably collapse or
Art: This is the skill of creating art. There are Cheating: This is the skill of winning at gam- suffer some other calamity. Engineering skill can
several different types of Art skill (painting, bling games by cheating—by dealing cards from also be used to evaluate constructions the party is
sculpture, woodcarving, mosaic, etc.). The play- the bottom of the deck, etc. The cheating char- passing through or over: what shape they're in,
er must specify one sort of art his character prac- acter should make his Cheating skill roll; each when and by whom they were built, and so on.
tices; a character can take the skill several times character he plays with can make one skill roll
and be proficient in several different forms of (Cheating at the normal level, Gambling at a Escape: The character is often able to get loose
art. Art skill can be used to improve the reaction - 1 penalty, or a base Intelligence check at a -4 when tied or locked up. A successful skill roll
of NPCs to the party; if the artist can present an penalty, whichever is best) against the character's means that the character is able to get rid of his
NPC with a portrait or sculpture of that person cheating roll. If one or more of the other players ties. Another roll is needed to open a locked
(and make his Art roll), the artist receives a + 2 makes his roll lower than the cheater does (see door. The DM can apply bonuses and penalties
to reaction. The player can choose for his charac- "Using Skills Against Each Other" in this chap- to the check based on the quality of the ropes
ter's Art skill to be based on Wisdom instead of ter), he detects the cheating. This skill is limited and knots, the intricacy of the lock, the lack of
Intelligence. to characters of Chaotic alignment. lockpicking tools, etc.

Artillery: A character must have this skill if he Craft (choose type): The character knows one Fire-Building: This is the ability to start a fire
is to command the crew of a piece of artillery type of craft; examples include armor-making, without a tinderbox. A character with a tinder-
(catapult or trebuchet). He does not have to bow-making, tattooing, leatherworking, smith- box and this skill is able to start fires automati-
make his skill roll with each shot; merely know- ing, weapon-making, etc. The character must cally (no roll necessary) in ordinary conditions. If
ing the skill is enough. The DM can call on him choose which one type of craft the skill pertains the character is trying to build a fire without a
to make his skill roll each time the character or to; of course, he can spend more slots and have tinderbox, he will eventually succeed; he must
the crew aims at a new target; the skill allows the several types of craft skills. make a 1d6 roll each round, and on a 1 or 2 he
character to make all pertinent calculations of ignites the fire. If the character is trying to build
trajectory, distance, and throw weight. The character can make his living at this pro- a fire in adverse conditions (during high winds or
fession and, with a successful roll, make expert using wet wood), he must make a skill check
This skill can alternatively allow the character opinions on subjects pertaining to his skill. with penalties assigned by the DM.
to oversee the building and repair of all varieties
of siege equipment. The character cannot know Danger Sense: A successful skill roll means Food Tasting: This is the ability to taste food
both how to build and how to effectively operate that the character can detect an imminent dan- and water to see if they have spoiled. Thus the
artillery weapons unless he takes the skill twice. ger. The character will not know the nature or character can avoid suffering from food poison-
source of the danger. The DM, not the player, ing by carefully tasting his food first. This ability
Bargaining: A successful skill roll allows a makes the skill roll, and he or she should not tell will not detect poisons added to a dish unless the
character to get the best deal available for goods, the player that a roll has been made unless the DM determines that the poison has a taste (in
services, or information. It's not usually possible roll is a success (and there is danger present). which case it may be too late anyway).
for a character to bargain someone into giving
him very much for nothing. Deceiving: This is the ability to persuade a lis- Gambling: This is the ability to win money in
tener of the "truth" and sincerity of what the games of skill (competitive card games, for ex-
Blind Shooting: This skill is the ability to speaker is saying, despite the fact that the skill ample) and betting. This involves honest games
shoot at a target without being able to see it; it is user is lying through his teeth. Successful use of (cheating is covered elsewhere), and a successful
typically used when the character is in darkness this skill causes an NPC to believe an untrue check increases the character's chances for win-
or when the target is outside the range of his statement or to accept a misleading statement as ning money at the games.
sight or infravision. The character must be able honest and sincere. Failure indicates that the
to hear the target so that its position can be eval- character sounds unconvincing. This skill cannot Healing: This is the ability to treat wounds
uated. If the character makes his skill check, he be used on player characters. and diagnose illnesses among humans and demi-
can then fire at the target; he needs an attack roll humans. A successful skill roll allows a character
to hit the target, but the character doesn't suffer Detect Deception: This is the ability to recog- to restore 1d3 hit points to a wounded character.
the normal darkness penalties. nize deceptive behavior in an NPC. This does (A related skill, Veterinary Healing, allows simi-
not reveal the truth or falsehood of specific state- lar treatment of animals and monsters.)
Bravery: With a successful use of this skill, the ments, the motivations of the speaker, or the ex-
character can resist the effects of any magical act nature of the deception. This skill only warns This skill cannot be used on a wounded char-
fear. An NPC using this skill successfully can ig- the character to distrust the deceptive NPC. The acter more than once for the same set of wounds.
nore the results of morale checks or of skills such DM makes the skill roll for the character, inform- If the character receives new wounds, Healing
as Intimidation. ing him of the result. The skill does not work on skill can be applied against the new wounds. The
player characters. skill is rolled against a set of wounds, not indi-
Caving: This is an ability to always know vidually against each injury. (The term "set of
where one is while exploring underground caves, Disguise: This is the ability to make a charac-
ter look like someone else. A successful Disguise

wounds" usually refers to all the hit points lost roll, he can interpret information in light of his Mimicry: This is the ability to mimic animal
by a character in a single combat situation.) occupation. A character must specify which type
of labor he knows, and he can select multiple La- noises and foreign-language accents. This is a
If a healer rolls a natural 20 when using this bor skills to be proficient in many types of jobs. very useful skill in the wilderness especially.
skill, he accidentally inflicts 1d3 points of dam- When characters use recognition codes or signals
age to the patient, and he may not treat that set Language (choose type): See "Optional Rule that imitate the screech of a hoot owl or a noise
of wounds again. for Languages," later in this chapter. from some other animal, this skill allows them to
mimic those noises convincingly so that enemy
Successful skill rolls allow the healer to diag- Law and Justice: This is the knowledge of the listeners are not automatically tipped off that
nose type of illness. In addition, a roll made by 5 laws and judicial system of one culture or coun- there are spies in the area.
or more will allow the character to determine try; characters who wish to be a judge or advo-
whether an illness is natural or magically in- cate (lawyer) must select this skill. Each empire Mountaineering: This does not replace a
duced. or nation has its own codes, so characters who thief's special climbing ability; it is the skill of
mountain-climbing with the use of ropes, pi-
Hunting: This is the ability to locate, stalk, wish to be conversant in different nations' codes tons, and other climbing gear. A character who
should choose this skill for each set of laws they has Mountaineering skill can use such gear to
and hunt large and small game with the bow, wish to study. climb difficult mountain and cliff faces and can
sling, or spear. Successful use of this skill gives rig lines to enable nonclimbers to tackle those
the character a +1 to hit with a bow, sling, or Leadership: Successful use of this skill adds faces as well.
spear against an unaware target in a peaceful + 1 to the morale of any NPCs under the charac-
outdoor setting; the skill is not usable in most ter's control. It can also be used to convince other Muscle: This skill is experience with heavy lift-
combat situations. NPCs to follow the character's commands. The ing and hard labor. The character can direct
DM can decide that any NPC who has a good groups of laborers so that their efforts are the
The character can automatically supply him- reason nor to follow the leader is automatically most effective possible. This character under-
self with food over a long period of time if he is successful at resisting this skill. Unlike Intimida- stands the use of simple machinery such as
in a fairly fertile area and has a missile weapon, tion, Leadership does not bully, antagonize, or wedges, pulleys, and levers. With a successful
spear, or javelin. In areas not normally rich in make enemies of the NPCs it is used upon. skill check, the character receives a + 2 bonus on
game he must make a skill roll and receive penal- Strength rolls for tasks such as opening doors.
ties to that roll (penalties determined by the Lip Reading: To use this skill, the character
must be able to see the lips of the target person Music (choose type): This skill allows a charac-
DM). If he is trying to supply more than just or creature and understand the language being
himself, he must make a skill roll if he is supply- spoken. A successful check allows a character to ter to play one group of related instruments in a
ing one other person, and he takes a - 1 penalty "overhear" the conversation; if the lip reader
understands the language being spoken, he can skilled manner. The player chooses the group of
for each additional person after the first he is try- understand the speakers' words. The distance to instruments that his character knows, and the
ing to supply. He must roll each day, and failure the target and the available light should be tak- character can take the skill several times in order
indicates that he has not found enough food to to know multiple instrument groups. Groups in-
feed everyone that day. en into account—the DM should apply skill roll
penalties for difficult situations. clude stringed instruments, brass, percussion,
A character with the Hunting skill forages au- woodwinds, etc. This skill is often taken in con-
tomatically in fertile areas (even when on the Magical Engineering: This is the ability to rec- junction with the Singing skill.
move) and uses his Hunting skill roll to deter- ognize the basic principles of some unfamiliar
mine how successful he is during full days spent Mysticism: This skill, though similar to Cere-
in search of game. magical devices. It does not include practical mony (above), is taken by nonclerics. This skill
training in design or fabrication of magical arti- allows the character to instinctively know the
Intimidation: This is the ability to bully non- facts. It does allow the character to recognize best course of action to please the Immortals in
player characters into doing what the player most common magical items with a successful general. A successful skill roll, for example,
character wants them to do. Success means that skill roll. It doesn't allow a character to recognize means that the character recognizes an idol dedi-
NPCs are intimidated into doing what the char- uncommon magical items or to distinguish cated to an Immortal and that the characters
acter wants. This skill cannot be used against
trapped or cursed items from safe ones. should give it its due respects.
PCs. NPCs who have this skill used upon them Mapping (Cartography): If a character has this
Nature Lore: This skill is the knowledge of
are unlikely to ever become friends with the in- skill, he can understand and make maps even if common plant and animal life forms of one spe-
timidating player character. he cannot read and write. The skill allows the cific terrain: desert, forest, jungle, mountain/
character to comprehend simple maps without a hill, open sea, plains, or arctic. The character can
Use of this skill means that the character is ei- skill roll; the character should make skill rolls to gain several Nature Lore skills by spending one
ther implicitly or explicitly threatening the tar- interpret or draft complicated layouts or to map skill slot for each different terrain he learns.
get with violence or other dire consequences if an area by memory. A character does not have to
the target doesn't comply. For this reason, In- have this skill in order to map a dungeon as the This skill gives the character knowledge of
timidation works best against low-level charac- characters explore it. A character who can map
ters. It does not work at all on player characters such things as edible and poisonous plants, heal-
or on NPCs of 5th level or higher. The DM can but not read obviously cannot understand the ing herbs, and signs of unnatural danger (such as
also, at his or her option, decide that it does not words on a map. unusual quiet, absence of normal plant or ani-
mal life, atypical animal behavior, etc.).
work on someone who is obviously in a much Military Tactics: This skill allows a character to
stronger position than the character using the interpret the movement of enemy forces and to When the character uses this skill in his home
move his own forces better. When using this territory, he receives a - 2 bonus to the die rolled
skill. For example, a king surrounded by elite skill, the player (not the character) first examines for the skill check. When he uses it in territory
guards, even if he himself is a 1st level character, the situation and decides what he thinks is very similar to his home, he receives no bonus.
is unlikely to feel threatened.
right—what he thinks the enemy is doing or how The less it resembles his own home territory, the
Knowledge (choose type): The character is an he should set up his units.
expert in one field of study such as the culture or greater the penalty he will receive, up to a +4.
geography of an area, history, legends, theology, The DM, not the player, rolls the character's
etc. A character can usually make his living by Military Tactics skill. On a successful roll, the Navigation: By taking directions from the po-
teaching his skill or acting as an expert on the DM will truthfully tell the player whether he has sition of the sun and the stars (or of whatever at-
subject; with a successful roll, he can make ex- calculated correctly; if he has not calculated cor- mospheric phenomena are appropriate in your
pert commentary on information relating to his rectly but the roll was successful, the DM should campaign), the character can always know
skill. The character taking this skill must specify offer some advice on how the player should set roughly where he is. Successful skill rolls, with
what sort of knowledge he is acquiring. A char- up his forces. If the roll is a failure, the DM positive or negative modifiers for the character's
acter can select multiple Knowledge skills, using should tell the player his character cannot inter- distance from his home territory and familiarity
one for each different field of study. pret the enemy troop movements well enough to with his surroundings, will tell the character
use them to his advantage. The success of the roll more precisely where he is.
Labor: The character is very accomplished at determines bonuses or penalties for the troops
one type of labor such as bricklaying, farming, during mass combat. Persuasion: This is the ability to persuade
mining, stonecutting, etc. The character can NPCs of your character's honesty and sincerity.
make his living with the skill. With a successful This isn't a liar's skill; the speaker must believe
the truth of what he says. Successful use of the

skill means the listener believes what the speaker with this skill can make their living with it, usu- or when there is a chance that he will be heard,
tells him. It does not mean that the listener will ally as specialists in large cities. The DM should he must make his skill check. If the DM doesn't
agree to actions proposed by the speaker. The want him to know that the DM can make the
DM can assign modifiers from + 1 to + 8 to the not allow this skill to characters belonging to skill check for him.
more primitive cultures, but it is entirely appro-
skill roll if the audience is hostile. This is a good priate to characters from highly civilized areas of Storytelling: This is the ability to captivate an
skill for diplomats and negotiators to have. the world. The player must indicate which audience when telling stories. The character can
branch of science his character has mastered; a earn his living as a teller of stories; if he also has
Piloting (choose type): This is the equivalent character can buy multiple Science skills to know Knowledge skills of such things as history, he can
multiple disciplines. be a storyteller of history.
of the Riding skill but applies to sailing vessels.
(It can also apply to large flying vessels such as Shipbuilding: This is the skill of designing Survival (choose terrain): This skill allows the
aerial ships and flying castles, if such things are and building ships. It allows a character to super- character to easily find food (especially vegeta-
present in a campaign. The use of magical items vise the construction of professional-quality bles and fruits), shelter, and water in a single
such as flying carpets and flying brooms does not ships, whether they are made by muscle or by type of terrain, selected from one of the follow-
require the Piloting skill.) A character must use a magic. The Shipbuilding skill will also let char- ing: desert, forest/jungle, mountain/hill, open
different category of Piloting for each different acters evaluate the ships they encounter, deter- sea, plains, arctic. Desert Survival doesn't give
type of vessel, as defined in the Piloting Skill: mine who built them and when, etc. the character the ability to survive in the forest;
Types of Vessels Table. As such, he will need to he must also take Forest Survival for that.
spend more than one skill to pilot more than one Signaling (choose type): Successful use of this
type of vessel. skill allows the character to leave messages that A character with the Survival skill forages au-
can only be understood by another Signaling tomatically in fertile areas, even when on the
Planar Geography: This skill gives the charac- specialist of the same culture, trade guild, mili- move. If he is trying to supply more than just
ter a general knowledge of the Prime, inner, out- tary force, or "school." For instance, one dwarf himself, he must make a skill check at a + 1 pen-
er, Astral, and Ethereal Planes as described character with the Signaling skill could pile rocks alty to his die roll for each additional person that
into a cluster; it would communicate nothing to he is trying to supply. He must roll each day, and
elsewhere in this book. This skill includes knowl- most characters, but another dwarf character failure indicates that he has not found enough
edge of techniques of travel among the planes with Signaling would recognize it as a signal and food for everyone he is trying to supply.
and common inhabitants of known planes. be able to interpret its meaning.
Tracking: The character can follow tracks. The
Profession: The character is accomplished at When a character takes a Signaling skill, he DM is free to increase or penalize the chance of
one type of nonlabor profession such as politics, must specify the type and culture of signals that success depending on the circumstances (age of
cooking, estate management, horse grooming, he will be studying and he must have the oppor- the tracks, type of terrain, number of tracks be-
scribing (the character must be literate), etc. The tunity to learn such signals. Appropriate types of ing followed, and so forth).
character can make his living with his skill, and signals include military trumpet signals, naval
(with a successful roll) make expert commentary Veterinary Healing: This is the same as Heal-
on subjects pertaining to his skill. The player flag signals, smoke signals, drum signals, etc. ing (above), but this skill pertains to creatures
must indicate which specific profession his char- Singing: This is the ability to sing in a skilled that are neither humans nor demihumans—in
other words, nonhumans, monsters, normal ani-
acter knows; a character can buy several different manner; a character can make his living with this mals, and so forth.
Profession skills. skill and (if he is good enough) can become a fa-
mous entertainer or bard. A character can take this skill in one of two
Quick Draw: A successful skill check with this ways: 1) as a General Veterinary Healing skill,
skill allows the character to nock and fire an ar- Snares: This is the skill of building traps to which means that he makes his roll with a + 1
row with a + 2 bonus to individual initiative. capture animals, monsters, and unwanted visi- penalty for every type of creature he treats; or 2)
tors. A successful skill roll means the trap func- as a Specialized Veterinary Healing skill that per-
Riding (choose type): This skill includes the tions properly. The DM can assign modifiers to tains to one class of creatures (for example,
basic care and feeding of a riding animal and the the skill roll based on the mount of time the equines). The character with a Specialized Veter-
ability to control it under difficult circumstanc- character had to set up the trap, the availability inary Healing skill takes no penalty when treat-
es. Riding rolls are required if a character is try- of materials, etc. ing the creatures that are his specialty, but he
ing to use a weapon from the back of a riding takes a + 2 penalty with all other types of crea-
animal; failure means that the mount is moving Stealth (choose terrain): This is similar to the tures. (A character could take the skill twice, one
too much for the character to use the weapon. General and one Specialized; he would have his
thief's Move Silently ability, with some impor- listed roll for the creatures that were his specialty
Each Riding skill allows the character to ride tant differences. The character taking the Stealth and only have a + 1 penalty when treating all
one type of animal; if a character wishes to know skill must choose one type of terrain in which the other creatures.) A character with Veterinary
how to ride two different types of beasts, he skill works from the following list: city/ Healing skill trying to treat a human or demi-
must buy two different Riding skills. Horses con- outdoors, indoors/caves, forest/jungle, plains, human rolls at a + 3 penalty.
desert, arctic, and mountains/hills. The skill on-
stitute one type of animal; giant eagles consti- ly works in that type of terrain. (However, the Wrestling: In wrestling combat, a successful
tute another. character could conceivably spend seven slots, roll will give the character a + 1 to his wrestling
one for each type of Stealth skill.) rating (see the "Unarmed Combat" rules in
When a character uses his Riding skill on the Chapter 8). Higher skill scores give higher bo-
wrong animal (for example, when a horse rider City/Outdoors is used in the streets, in trash- nuses, so a character with Wrestling +1 would
tries to ride a camel), he suffers a +4 to his Rid- strewn alleyways, on rooftops, and in similar ur- receive a + 2 bonus, and so on.
ing rolls. When a character with no Riding skill ban environments. Indoors/Caves is used in
at all tries to ride an animal, he must make a dungeons and catacombs, in caverns and caves, Optional Rule for Languages
Dexterity check at a +8 penalty to his die roll. and in most enclosed spaces. The other terrain
types are self-explanatory. With the DM's permission, characters can use
However, a character doesn't have to make the skill slots to take additional languages. (Addi-
success roll except in difficult situations, such as Humans, demihumans, and humanoids can tional languages are an Intelligence-based skill.)
when the animal is spooked. Otherwise, he can take the Stealth skill. The character will move For each slot spent on a new language, the char-
stay on the animal's back without difficulty. very quietly in the terrains for which he has the acter can speak the language (not necessarily very
skill. When he is trying to sneak up on someone well) and can read it (if he is intelligent enough
Science (choose type): The character is an ex- to read his regular languages). Characters still
pert in one branch of scientific study such as as- get all the free languages they're entitled to from
tronomy, geology, metallurgy, etc. Characters their Intelligence and racial abilities.

Piloting Skill: Types of Vessels Table Characters have trouble speaking these addi-
tional "skill languages." A character speaking a
Type of Vessel Vessels in This Category
Small boats
Galleys River boat, sailing boat, canoe, ship's lifeboat, raft
Small galley, large galley, war galley, longship
Water vessels Large sailing ship, small sailing ship, Troop Transport
Flying vessels Aerial boat, aerial ship

skill language will automatically understand slot for every 800,000 experience earned after Time Use
someone speaking slowly and simply. If the char- that. Above 10th level, elves get another slot at When it's important to know, the DM decides
acter is listening to someone who is excited or us- 1,350,000 experience points and another for
ing technical speech, he must make his skill roll every 1,000,000 experience points earned after how much time each use of a skill represents.
to understand the language. Failure means he that. Above 8th level, halflings get another slot The time it takes to look at the stars and make a
didn't understand what was said. at 300,000 experience points and another for basic Navigation roll might be about a minute;
every 1,200,000 points earned beyond that. the time it takes to make a superior spear, both
The character speaking a skill language com- These points are outlined in the Skill Slot Acqui- head and shaft, will be a few days; and the time
municates in the same way. When he's strug- sition (Demihumans) Table. it takes to make a Tracking roll to recognize what
gling to explain something fast, complicated, or sort of creature left the prints before a character
technical or when he's flustered or excited, he The DM can simply assume that your charac- may only be a second or two.
must make a skill roll to get the idea across. ter is meeting with a teacher who can instruct Using Skills Together
him in the skill, or the DM can introduce an
Improving Skills NPC who is the character's teacher. Unlike the Often, when the character's skill roll has
situation with weapon mastery, the character failed, all the other characters with the same skill
Characters' skills can be increased to higher never has to roll anything to acquire the skill. If will say, "He failed?! Let me make my skill roll!"
scores. Simply use more skill choices to improve the DM says the skill is available to player charac-
skill rolls, and the PC will get a +1 to his skill roll ters and if the PC has an empty skill slot and ac- This isn't a good thing to do. If the DM lets
for every skill choice added to that skill. A skill cess to a teacher, he can take the skill. everyone make a skill roll for the same task when
choice can be used to either improve an existing someone has failed, one character will eventually
skill by one point or to buy a new skill, not both. Important DM's Note: Intelligent monsters, succeed; it's therefore pointless to have a skills
such as orcs and giants, can also have general system since every task will be "automatically"
Example: Alaric has only a Charisma of 12, yet skills. The DM may prefer only to give skills to (that is, "eventually") successful.
he wants to be a natural leader. Instead of using monsters that have distinctive personalities and
only one skill choice to purchase the Leadership roles within a campaign. The DM should usually decide that the cir-
skill, he chooses to use three on that skill. The cumstances that led one character to fail will
first choice gives him his Leadership skill; he Skills and the DM make all the others fail. For example, a character
must roll his Charisma score, 12, for all Leader- tracking his prey fails his roll and loses the track.
ship checks. His two extra skill choices give him It's the responsibility of the DM to see to it The DM decides that it's because the creature
an additional + 2 to his rolls ( + 1 for each skill that players don't abuse these skills and achieve went to the trees, a rainfall obliterated the
choice spent). His Leadership checks will now be results totally inappropriate to their use in the tracks, or whatever, there are no tracks to find.
made at 14 instead of 12. campaign. It's also the responsibility of the DM Therefore, the other characters can't make their
to reward characters who use their skills cleverly own Tracking skill rolls here, except to confirm
Learning More Skills and in the context of the adventure. the fact that there are no tracks.

Your character can choose to purchase more The DM decides when a character can try his However, sometimes it's reasonable for char-
skills or improve existing ones. All characters get skill roll, and the DM also decides what sort of acters to use their skills together to solve a task.
a new skill slot every four experience levels. effect the skill can have in a situation. The DM For example, when two healers are trying to di-
Thus, humans get four slots (plus bonuses for shouldn't make the characters roll over and over agnose a disease, two can be better than one.
high Intelligence) at level 1, then an extra at for the same task, only at critical points in play.
level 5, another at level 9, another at level 13, The characters can choose which of them is the
and so on. See the Skill Slot Acquisition (Hu- Positive and Negative Modifiers chief problem-solver for this situation (usually
mans) Table. When the character is using a skill, the DM the PC with the highest skill), and that PC and
the others with the same skill all make their skill
Skill Slot Acquisition (Humans) Table may wish to assign positive or negative modifiers rolls. The DM uses the roll of the chief problem-
to make the character's roll easier or harder. solver and gives him a - 1 modifier for every one
Experience Skill Slots These modifiers are based on circumstances. of his friends who made the roll and a + 1 modi-
Level Gai4n*ed fier for every one who failed it. The chief
1 Circumstances that make a job slightly more problem-solver can never receive more than a
5 1 difficult warrant a +1 or +2 modifier. Those - 3 bonus this way, but there is no limit to the
9 1 that make the job substantially more difficult penalty he can receive if his allies all roll badly.
13 1 warrant a +3 or +4 modifier. Those that make Using Skills Against Each Other
17 1 the job very hard—such as not being able to see,
21 1 working on the rolling deck of a ship during a Sometimes situations will come up where two
1 severe storm, and so forth—can warrant penal- skills are in conflict. A character with Deception
25 1 ties of +5, + 10, or even + 15 to the roll. can try to fast-talk a character with Detect De-
29 1 ception, or two Bargaining characters can hag-
33 On the other hand, circumstances that make gle. When the DM sees this situation occur, he
the job easier—such as having all the materials can have both parties roll their appropriate skills.
* Not counting bonuses for high Intelligence needed, having lots of time, and so forth— The character with the lowest successful roll wins
scores. warrant positive benefits a: the same scale. the contest. When a tied roll occurs, the DM has
to analyze the situation; he may have them reroll
Above 12th level, dwarves get another skill The character always has a chance of success, for a clear decision or he may decide that the sit-
slot at 1,200,000 experience points and another however bad the odds, as long as the DM says it's uation is unchanged.
remotely possible to succeed. A natural roll of 1
on ld20 is an automatic success, just as a roll of
20 is an automatic failure.

Skill Slot Acquisition (Demihumans) Table

Dwarf Level Number of Elf Level Number of Halfling Level Number of
or XP Total New4S*lots or XP Total New4S*lots or XP Total New4S*lots
1st level 1st level 1st level
5th level 1 5th level 1 5th level 1
9th level 1 9th level 1 300,000 1
1,200,000 1 1,350,000 1 + 1,200,000 1
+ 800,000 1 + 1,000,000 1

* Not counting bonuses for high Intelligence scores.

bis chapter covers all the information need- See the Measurements of Game Time Table Feet vs. Yards
ed for movement in the D&D® world. Us- for more information on how these units inter-
ing the rules that follow for time; movement; connect. In dungeons and other indoor settings, the
and travel by land, water, and air will help add basic unit of distance measurement is the foot.
realism to the game. Skipped Time Missile and spell ranges are measured in feet; a
character's normal speed is expressed in feet. In
Time It's also possible to measure longer periods of wildernesses, open fields, open city streets, and
time simply by skipping over them. For instance, other outdoor settings, the basic unit of distance
Time is handled somewhat differently in the characters might finish up one adventure togeth- measurement is the yard. (One yard equals three
D&D game than it is in real life. Time that the er and decide they need to fulfill their family ob- feet.) In outdoor settings, it is easier to move
players experience is called "real time." Time ligations for awhile. They split up, each quickly due to more open terrain and better
that the characters experience is "game time." In returning to his respective home, and agree to lighting. Therefore, a character's normal speed
D&D games, the passage of time experienced by meet at an inn known to all of them after one outdoors is expressed in yards.
the characters is usually compressed. A game can month. The DM will ask each character what
take as little as an hour of real time or up to he's doing during this skipped time, give each Example: A character who moves 90' per turn
twelve hours (or even longer with tireless play- character the results of his actions, and then (normal speed) in a dungeon could move 90
ers), but that real time may represent days or bring the characters back together again when yards (or 180') per turn outdoors.
weeks of game time. the time is up. Great lengths of time, up to
years, can be passed this way if both players and Missiles and spell ranges are also read as feet in
Game time is not always longer than actual the DM wish to do so. dungeons and as yards in the wilderness. How-
real time. Combat and some role-playing can ever, the area affected by a spell (or by flaming
take much longer than the actual game time. For Assumed and Defined oil, a net, or any other such attack) is not read as
example, it may take half an hour of real time to Actions yards; it is always read as feet. Thus, a fireball
play a battle that lasts only a few minutes of spell cast in the wilderness would have a range of
game time. In D&D games, the player does not normally 240 yards, but it would still have an area effect of
have to describe every action his character takes 40 feet in diameter.
Rounds, Turns, and Days throughout the day. For example, when the
characters are doing long-distance traveling and Map Scales
Game time is divided into rounds, turns, and time is being measured by the day, it's reason- You may want to keep maps of the characters'
days, as described in the following text. able for everyone to assume that the characters
do eat, rest after and sometimes during travel, travels; it's usually a very good idea in traditional
Rounds: Situations of immediate danger— talk to one another, behave in a normally pru- dungeon-based campaigns, and the DM may in-
such as combat or those precarious seconds when dent and careful fashion, and so forth, without sist on it. With dungeon or indoor maps, you
a character trips a trap, falls into a pit, grabs hold the players having to role-play every single inci- use graph paper. Each square on the paper typi-
of the side, and gazes down in terror at the dent or encounter. cally represents 10' of distance. With wilderness
poison-tipped spikes far below—are normally or outdoor maps, you use hex paper. Map hex
measured in rounds, each of which represents 10 Distance scales vary widely, but the most commonly used
seconds of game time. Except when the rules D&D game scales usually have one hex represent
specify otherwise, each character can perform Movement, Missile, and Spell Ranges 8 or 24 miles. Always check the map key printed
only one action during a round—swing a sword, Indoors: Normal movement speed, missile on maps. In any case, the DM will tell you if he
cast a spell, or perform some movement or other or she wants you to map in a different scale.
action. ranges, and spell ranges are measured in feet
(90' means ninety feet indoors). Miniature Figures
Turns: Slightly less intense situations—such as Your campaign group might like to use minia-
carefully exploring a dangerous set of catacombs, Outdoors: Normal movement speed, mis-
sneaking up on an enemy encampment, or try- sile ranges, and spell ranges are measured in ture figures to represent all characters and mon-
ing to escape a pursuing army that is a mile or yards (120' actually means 120 yards out- sters, especially in combat encounters.
more behind—are usually measured in turns, doors).
each of which represents 10 minutes of game Several types of miniature figures are available
time. In the course of a turn, should something Everywhere: Spell effects are always mea- from toy and hobby shops worldwide that are
happen to propel the character into an immedi- sured in feet. made of metal, plastic, or cardboard; the metal
ately dangerous situation, the DM will always Maps and Miniatures and plastic ones are suitable for painting. With
shift the time sequence to rounds. so many available, you should be able to find
Map Scale: Dungeon maps are usually figures that look very similar to your characters.
Days: Characters' lives are not all spent in done on graph paper, one square represent- The 25mm figurines (a human is about 1" tall)
breakneck action scenes. Sometimes they do ing 10'. Wilderness maps are usually on hex are well-suited to D&D games.
things that take a great deal of time to accom- paper, one hex representing 8, 16, 24, 32,
plish, such as journey 1,000 miles on horseback, 72, or any other distance in miles. When you use miniatures to conduct combat,
do library research, create a golem, or sit around 1" on the table surface represents 10' of dis-
the city waiting while the king finishes putting Using Miniatures: In standard game play tance. If a character can move 30 yards (90') in a
his army together. Typically, the DM passes this using miniatures, 25mm lead or cardboard round, you'd move his figure 9" ahead on the
rime in days, describing one or two things the miniatures represent human-scale figures. If table.
characters might learn or do each day. Should you use 25mm hex paper to regulate move-
one of these events lead to a role-playing en- ment, one hex represents 10'; if you are not You can use a ruler to measure distances or you
counter, the DM can always shift to turns and using a hex-grid, one inch on the table-top or can buy one of many vinyl or plastic playing sur-
rounds. surface represents 10' (indoors or outdoors). faces that are already gridded into inches. Addi-
tionally, you can use watercolor markers to draw
Measurements of Game Time Table room and situation details on vinyl or plastic sur-
faces and easily erase them once the combat is
Measure Equals Activities Measured This Way done.
1 round 10 seconds Combat, some spell durations
1 turn 10 minutes Noncombat movement, some spell durations, exploration of Movement
1 day 144 turns dungeons
Long-distance movement (miles/day), spell research, magical "Move: 120' (40')" gives the character's rates
item creation of movement. The first number, usually 120', is
the number of feet the character moves per turn
at a very cautious walking pace indoors; out-
doors, the unit of measurement is tripled so that

120' becomes 120 yards per turn. (Outdoor Character Movement Rates and Encumbrance Table
movement is tripled because of easier terrain,
better lighting, etc.) This first number is often Enc (cn) Normal Speed Encounter Speed Running Speed
known as "normal speed." 0-400 (feet per round)
(feet per turn) (feet per round)
The second number within parentheses is the 401-800 120 40 120
movement rate per round in feet; this number is 90 30 90
often called "encounter speed" and is the num- 801-1,200 60 20 60
ber used during combat. Outdoors, the en- 30 10 30
counter speed would be 40 yards as opposed to 1,201-1,600 15 5 15
40' in this instance. 1,601-2,400 0 0 0
2,401 +
Movement is sometimes written as "MV 120'
(40')" or "Movement 120' (40')." move 90' per turn; outdoors, walking cautiously ment rate up to a certain amount of encum-
(normal speed) but over easier terrain, he'll walk brance carried. It will move at half its movement
Normal, Encounter, and 90 yards per turn. rate up to twice that amount of encumbrance
Running Speeds carried, and it will not be able to move at greater
Important Note: Groups of characters, if they than a certain amount of encumbrance.
Though the normal speed of 120' per turn intend to stay together, move at the rate of the
seems very slow, this rate includes many as- slowest character. Land Travel
sumed actions—mapping, peeking around cor-
ners, resting, and so forth. Monster Movement Rates This section discusses moving over land using
various movement rates, the effect terrain has on
During encounters, movement is measured in Monsters' and animals' movement rates are movement, long-distance travel, becoming lost,
encounter speed. Characters move at 1/3 their also expressed in the "120' (40')" format. Some and finding food in the wilds.
normal speed in feet per round. In other words, monsters move much faster than player charac-
if the character's normal speed is 120' per turn, ters, but others are the same speed or slower. See Overland Movement Rates
his encounter speed is 40' per round indoors. Chapter 14 for the movement rates of various
monsters. To find the distance a party travels in a day,
In addition, when characters are running at find the normal speed of the slowest party mem-
full speed (toward or away from an enemy), their The only time monster encumbrance is tallied ber or mount (if all party members are mount-
rate is equal to their normal speed in feet per is when the monster or animal is carrying away ed). Divide that speed by 5. The result is the
round (rather than turn) or three times their en- some heavy prey or is being used to carry riders. number of miles per day the party moves
counter speed. A character can run at maximum Guidelines are found in Chapter 14. through clear terrain (open fields and range, city,
speed for 30 rounds at most (5 minutes) before etc.). This number, of course, is modified if ter-
becoming exhausted. (Characters with the op- These rules are somewhat simpler than those
tional Endurance skill can maintain this pace for for player character encumbrance. For instance,
longer periods of time.) In other words, if a char- a monster will be able to move at its full move-
acter's normal speed is 120' per turn and his en-
counter speed is 40' per round, his running Terrain Effects on Movement Table
speed is 120' per round indoors.
Terrain Movement
Exhaustion
An exhausted character must rest for at least Trail/road* l 1/2 normal
Clear / city / grassland Normal
three turns (30 minutes) before running or fight- Forest/muddy ground/snow 2/3 normal
ing again. An exhausted character who is forced Hill/desert/broken terrain 2/3 normal
to fight without rest is penalized in combat. Mountain/swamp/jungle 1/2 normal
Monsters gain a + 2 bonus to their attack rolls to Ice/glacier 1/2 normal
hit the character (because he is unable to dodge
incoming attacks as effectively), and the charac- * Unpaved roads allow travelers to ignore every terrain modifier except muddy ground/snow.
ter must subtract 2 from all attack damage rolls Paved roads allow travelers to ignore every terrain modifier except snow.
(he cannot muster the strength to hit more effec-
tively, but any successful hit will still inflict at Traveling Rates by Terrain Table
least 1 point of damage).
Miles Covered Per Day:
A character who becomes exhausted but is
forced to continue running cannot use his maxi- Travel Mode Trail Clear Hills Mountains Desert
mum running speed. He drops to encounter Foot, no enc* 36 24 16 12 16
speed and cannot move any faster until he has Foot, lt enc** 24 12 8 6 8
rested. Foot, hvy enct 12 8 6 4 6
Camel 48 32 24 16 32
Character Movement Rates Elephant 36 24 12 8 8
Riding horsett 72 48 36 24 16
Any character will have a movement rate of Donkey or mule 36 24 16 12 16
"120' (40')" unless he is weighed down by a lot War horse 36 24 16 12 8
of gear. The weight and clumsiness of gear is Draft horse 24 16 12 8 8
called encumbrance and is measured in "cn," Ox 16 12 10 8 6
which are coin-weight equivalents; 1 coin equals
approximately 1/10 of a pound in weight and * This is a character with a 120' normal speed; he can carry no more than 400 cn encumbrance.
awkwardness. The amount of encumbrance the ** This is a character with a 90' normal speed (that is, someone carrying between 401 and 800 cn
character carries determines how fast he can
move, as noted in the Character Movement encumbrance).
Rates and Encumbrance Table. t This is a character with a 60' normal speed (that is, someone carrying between 801 and 1,200 cn

Example: A character carrying 60 lbs. (600 cn) encumbrance).
of armor and equipment will be slowed to a MV tt The travel rates listed here are possible but will kill the horse if only one is used for the entire
of 90' (30'). Traveling in a dungeon, at a very
cautious walking pace (normal speed), he'll trip. Typically, a rider only manages to achieve these rates by riding one-third the distance listed
and trading his horse in twice at way stations for fresh mounts. At the end of the day, he and the
three horses are exhausted, but all are alive. If a rider does not intend to kill or exhaust his horse,
he should use the travel rates listed for the war horse instead.

rain is less favorable. Becoming Lost (although actually traveling northeast), the
Terrain (the features of the land being ex- group decides to turn northwest; the members
A party following a road, trail, or river or led will actually be going north at this point.
plored) affects the rate of travel. Though it by a reliable guide will not become lost. A guide
makes no difference to the combat round or the is a retainer who knows the local area or—if you Food in the Wild
10-minute turn, the terrain may affect the dis- are using the optional general skills rules—is a
tance a party travels in a day, as outlined in the PC or an NPC who has either the Navigation or Traveling characters sometimes run out of
Terrain Effects on Movement Table. Knowledge (of the area in question) skill. The food in the wild. Cautious parties bring enough
DM may require the character to make his standard or iron rations for everyone's use for the
On the Terrain Effects on Movement Table, Navigation/Knowledge skill check each day to whole trip plus up to 50% extra; but great delays
modifiers are not cumulative. When two or more keep the party on track. (weather, magical traps, other problems) can still
conditions are in effect (not counting trail/ cause them to run out of food. However, in most
road), simply use the worst condition to deter- However, if a party is not on a road, trail, or terrain types (but not in some swamps or
mine the party's movement. When the river and does not have a guide, the party may oceans), parties may either forage or hunt to get
characters' path will carry them through several become lost. The DM must check each day to see more food.
different types of terrain in a single day, the DM if the adventurers become lost by rolling 1d6 be-
should decide which one terrain type dominates fore the party begins movement for the day. Find The characters may forage while traveling, but
and base their movement on that type of terrain. the type of terrain the party is traveling through they slow their daily movement rate to 2/3 nor-
on the following list; if the roll on the die mal as a result. (They cannot forage while on a
For convenience's sake, character and mount matches the number listed, the party becomes forced march.) Foraged food includes nuts, ber-
movement in the most common types of terrain lost. ries, some plants, and possibly small game. In
are listed in the Traveling Rates by Terrain Table. good terrain and weather, characters usually
Find out which party member moves slowest on • Clear or grasslands: 1. have a 50% chance (1-3 on 1d6) of finding
this table; his movement rate will dictate the • Swamp, jungle, or desert: 1-3. enough food to survive. The DM may modify
movement for the entire party. • All other terrain: 1-2. this due to the terrain, and he or she will make
If a party is lost, find the direction of travel all the necessary rolls.
Long-Distance Travel and Rest (either by the DM's choice or by random roll).
Characters and mounts must rest one full day The DM must keep track of the party's actual po- If the characters spend a full day in the vicinity
sition and the direction the characters think they of their camp, normal foraging is automatically
for every six days they spend traveling. Those are going! For example, the party members tell successful. Such characters might (DM's choice)
who do not rest suffer a — 1 penalty on attack the DM that they want to travel north. However, encounter animals that they can hunt for addi-
rolls and damage rolls until they do rest. If they the DM has secretly determined that the party is tional food. Days spent in a forced march or rest-
go more than six days without resting, they suf- lost and that northeast is the direction the party ing cannot be spent hunting.
fer an additional - 1 penalty per six days until thinks is north. If the group travels this direction
they do rest, and they must rest one full day for and then decides to travel in a different direc- If the campaign is using the general skills from
each six days they spent traveling if they are to tion, the DM will have to adjust accordingly. For Chapter 5, a character with the Hunting skill for-
lose the penalty. example, after traveling "north" for six miles ages automatically (without movement penal-
ties) in fertile areas, even when on the move, and
he uses his Hunting skill roll to determine how
successful he is during days spent in search of
game.

If characters run out of food, they will become
ravaged by hunger. They will need to rest more,
travel slower, suffer attack roll penalties and
gradual loss of hit points, and eventually face
death from starvation.

Water Travel

Characters are sometimes forced to swim or
use ships to reach destinations via waterways.
This section describes how to do both.

By Swimming (and
Drowning)

In the D&D® game, all characters may swim
unless the DM decides otherwise. A character's
movement rate while swimming is 1/5 his out-
door running speed (120 yards per round H / 5 =
24 yards per round). A character swimming
underwater always measures his movement rate
in feet. Thus, a character who can swim at 24
yards per round on the surface can swim at 24
feet per round underwater.

Under normal conditions, a swimming charac-
ter is in no danger of drowning. However, if the
character is swimming while carrying heavy en-
cumbrance or swimming in rough, dangerous
conditions, he can drown. If a character is carry-
ing more than 400 cn encumbrance, sheer
weight will drag him down. The DM should de-
cide on the chances of drowning in rough water,
swimming while encumbered, or fighting while
swimming.

Generally, if the DM wishes, he can tell the Water Movement Modification Table
player to make an appropriate ability check each
round (for example, a Strength check if the char- Roll Effect! Notes
acter is battling high seas or a Constitution check (2d6) Weather Becalmed; no movement except by oar; oared movement
against exhaustion) to check on the character's
ability to keep his head above water. On the first 2 No wind reduced to 1/3 normal amount because of rower
occasion the character misses his ability check, he fatigue
slips under the water. 3 Extreme light breeze Movement reduced to 1/3 normal; also used when beating
4 Light breeze before normal winds
When a character goes underwater—and can- 5 Moderate breeze Movement reduced to 1/3 normal; also used when quarter
not breathe there—he must hold his breath or 6-8 Normal winds reaching before normal winds
immediately begin drowning. He can hold his 9 Strong breeze Movement reduced to 2/3 normal; also used when broad
breath for a number of rounds equal to his Con- 10 High winds reaching before normal winds
stitution score if he does not exert himself; if he 11 Extreme high winds Normal movement
exerts himself (by fighting, panicking, etc.) he 12 Gale Movement is l 1/3 normal (normal plus 1/3 extra)
can only hold his breath for a number of rounds Movement is l 1/2 normal (normal plus 1 / 2 extra)
equal to half his Constitution score.
Double normal movement*
Once a character can no longer hold his Galleys have an 80% chance of sinking; triple normal
breath, he begins to drown. He must make a
Constitution check every round. The first check movement in random direction rolling ld6:
is against his normal Constitution score; each 1 = desired direction
subsequent one is rolled with a cumulative + 1 2 = 60° starboard
penalty to the die roll ( + 1 on the second check, 3 = 120° starboard
+ 2 on the third, etc.). 4 = 180° (reverse)

Once he fails a check, he has drowned—but 5 = 120° port
he is not dead yet. Although he doesn't breathe, 6 = 60° port
he will not be dead for a number of rounds equal
to 1/3 his Constitution score (round up). While * May take on water (unsailed vessel chance 20%, sailed vessel chance 10%). Taking on water re-
he is in this state halfway between life and duces speed by 1/3 until docking and repair are possible.
death, if he can be healed by a character with the
Healing skill or by a character with healing mag- (triple) one day's movement, the maneuver is (As noted under sailing ship above, a good pilot
ic, he will recover normally. successful and the ship is safe (though likely to can improve the galley's chances if the DM is us-
be far off course). If the ship reaches a coastline ing the general skills rules and the pilot can
If this happy event does not take place, the or other shore, there is a 75% chance that it will make his Piloting skill check. Historically, many
character dies. However, he still may be brought be broken up trying to beach, and only a 25% galleys did have sails, but the galleys found in
back to life by a raise dead spell. chance that it will safely find a sheltering harbor. the D&D® game do not.)
(DMs can modify that chance if they are using
A character who reaches the stage at which he the optional general skills. If the ship's pilot can If a DM prefers to add more complexity to his
is making Constitution rolls to keep from drown- make his Piloting skill check, the ship's chances game world, he can add some optional water
ing, even if he is rescued and does not drown, is of finding safety improve by 5 % for every point movement rules for traveling by water. Roll 2d6
considered exhausted, as described above under by which he successfully makes his roll.) at the start of each day traveled by water and
"Exhaustion." check the results on the Optional Water Move-
• Galley (Lifeboat, Raft): Any vessel without ment Modification Table.
By Ship sails has only a 20% chance of weathering a gale;
failure results in the ship being swamped. If the Aerial Travel
For waterborne traveling, whether on a river galley is in sight of the coastline when the gale
or near a coast, characters move at the ship's rate. first hits, check the coastal terrain. If it is clear Characters traveling on aerial mounts can
The ship's movement rate given on the Sailing terrain, the galley may beach before the storm move 72 miles per day. Characters traveling on
Vessels Table in Chapter 4 is for average sailing hits. For all other terrain, roll 1d6; a result of 1-2 aerial devices (such as flying carpets) can move
conditions. If the voyage is favored by steady indicates that the pilot finds a safe beach or cove. 120 miles per day.
winds and calm waters, the speed may be in-
creased to as much as double the number given.
If the seas are rough or the vessel becalmed, little
or no progress might be made in a day!

When sailing on seas or oceans, there is a
chance that the weather will be unsuitable for
travel. Roll 2d6 at the beginning of each day; a
result of 2 indicates no wind and a roll of 12 indi-
cates gales or fierce storms. The effects such
weather has on ship travel are as follows:

No Wind: Sailing ships (vessels without row-
ers) may not move and must spend the entire
day in the same area (hex). Rowed ships are nev-
er stopped for lack of wind; they are unaffected
by calm weather.

Gale or Storm: Results differ whether the ship
is a sailing ship or a galley, as noted in the follow-
ing:

• Sailing Ship: This type of ship may either
sit (80% chance of sinking) or run before the
wind. Movement rate is triple normal, but it is in
a random direction as determined by the DM.
(The DM can see the Water Movement Modifica-
tion Table for a handy direction generator if he
or she wishes.) If no coastline is reached during

n "encounter" occurs when a player char- ber by 10; the result is the distance, in feet, at Game Day Checklist
acter or a PC party meets a person, group, which the monsters are detected.
or monster that is not a member or his party. An 1. Daybreak: Party prepares for travel, stud-
encounter can result in combat between the two This is the distance at which the DM first be- ies spells, selects travel direction.
sides, conversation, cooperation, a chase, or sim- gins keeping track of them and the distance at
ilar event. "Evasion" is what happens when an which both sides first have a chance to notice one 2. Getting Lost: DM rolls 1d6 to see if party
encounter occurs and one side wants to escape another. Once the monsters appear, the DM becomes lost. If so, see the "Land Travel"
the other; that side turns and runs. should switch to the Encounter Checklist (on section in Chapter 6.
In this chapter, standard procedures for game page 93) to determine what happens next.
turns and game days are discussed as well as what 3. Daytime Wandering Monsters: The DM
happens during encounters and during evasion Wandering Monsters Check makes a 1d6 roll for wandering monsters
attempts. Surprise, reactions, and wandering Every two turns (not every turn), the DM rolls for the daytime hours. See the Chance of
monsters are also detailed. Encounter Table for determining rolls.
Id6 to check for wandering monsters or random
Exploration and the encounters. In any setting where there is a possi- 4. Encounter Results: Based on the DM's die
Game Turn bility of characters running across monsters (or roll, the party does the following:
strangers, wild animals, occupants of a dungeon a. If no wandering monsters are encoun-
When characters are exploring a specific area that are not locked in a particular room or area, tered, party concludes movement and
(such as a dungeon), moving through heavily or anything else that might be moving freely daylight period ends. Skip to Step 6.
patrolled territory (such as an armed camp or the through an area), the DM can check for wander- b. If wandering monsters are encoun-
border between unfriendly nations), or traveling ing monsters and random encounters. For a tered, the DM goes to the Encounter
through a heavily populated zone (such as a more in-depth method of determining encount- Checklist, below. If the characters
town), the DM measures time in turns. Each ers, the DM can check the Chance of Encounter want to evade or pursue encountered
turn represents 10 minutes; customarily charac- Table and follow the instructions there for check- monsters, the DM goes to the "Eva-
ters will travel at their normal speed during ing for encounters. sion and Pursuit" section later in this
game turns. Each game turn follows the pattern chapter.
noted in the Game Turn Checklist. If the DM's roll indicates that there will be an
encounter, the DM can choose what sort of en- 5. Resume Travel: After the encounter, the
Game Turn Checklist counter it is (based on what he knows about the party may resume travel. If they are lost,
1. Wandering Monsters: If the wandering area), or he can roll on the wandering monsters the DM may (at his option) recheck the
tables later in this chapter. direction of travel.
monsters check at the end of the previous
turn was positive, the monsters arrive Important Note: If the Dungeon Master has 6. Nightfall: The party finds a place to stop
now. Under normal dungeon conditions, already decided to have a prearranged encounter and rest.
they appear 2d6 x 10' away in a direction during this two-turn time period or if he has de-
of the DM's choice (see the "Encounter cided that the characters will have no encounter 7. Nighttime Wandering Monsters: The DM
Distance" section, below, for more infor- during this period, he can skip the wandering makes a 1d12 roll for wandering monsters
mation). Leave the Game Turn Checklist monster roll. for the nighttime hours. See the Chance
sequence and go to the Encounter Check- of Encounter Table for determining rolls.
list, below. See "Handling Wandering Leaving the Game Turn If an encounter is indicated, the DM
Monsters," below, for more details on The DM continues determining time in game chooses the watch during which it occurs;
handling wandering monsters. two or three PC guards can be posted dur-
2. Actions: The caller (or each player) de- turns and using the Game Turn Checklist until ing the night, each taking an equal
scribes party actions (movement, listen- he feels that the situation has changed and he no amount of time guarding the party while
ing, searching, etc.). longer needs to use the checklist. For example, on watch. Continue with one of the fol-
3. Results: The DM describes the results of the characters might reach a different type of ter- lowing steps:
the party's actions as follows: rain (the comparatively safe outdoors of the wil- a. If an encounter occurs, the DM uses
a. If PC actions result in a discovery (a se- derness, the inn where they plan to spend the the Encounter Checklist, below,
night, the protected caravan of their patron, b. If no encounter occurs, the DM pro-
cret door, trap, etc.), the DM tells etc.), which will remove them from the normal ceeds to Step 9.
them what they found. game turn sequence.
b. If the PCs entered a new area, the DM 8. Resume Rest: Once any nighttime en-
describes it so that the mapper can Travel and the Game Day counter is over, the party returns to rest.
map it.
c. If an encounter occurs, skip to the En- Characters who are traveling overland or across 9. Night's End: Return to Step 1 above.
counter Checklist. open water and who are not moving through
4. Wandering Monsters Check: The DM dangerous territories should travel in game days, group, arrange to ambush the other group, and
checks for wandering monsters and ran- not game turns. The rules for long-distance over- so forth.
dom encounters. The DM rolls 1d6 every land travel rates were presented in Chapter 6,
other turn to check for this. If this is a and traveling by ship rates were discussed there Encounters keep game adventures exciting and
dungeon and a "1" comes up on the die, and in Chapter 4. Each game day spent traveling unpredictable and give characters experience with
the PCs will encounter wandering mon- follows the Game Day Checklist. different monster types. No map and map key
sters at the beginning of the next turn will detail every creature, monster, or character
(other types of terrain have different Encounters that can be found on the area represented by a
chances as shown on the Chance of En- map, of course, but the use of random encounters
counter Table, below). An "encounter" occurs when two or more can add flavor to a campaign. Characters traveling
groups come within visual range of one another through a jungle might run across a tiger, a giant
Wandering Monsters and at least one group becomes aware of the oth- python, or an even more fantastic monster; this
er; the term is also used to refer to incidents monster is present because it belongs to the type
When a DM's roll indicates that wandering where PCs encounter traps. of terrain in question.
monsters will appear, they appear the following
turn. The DM rolls 2d6 and multiplies this num- In most dungeon situations, groups encoun- In a dungeon, roll for encounters once every
tering other groups will become aware of one an- two turns; in the outdoors, roll once during the
other at or nearly at the same time. In outdoor day and once (at a reduced chance) at night.
encounters and a few dungeon encounters, one Check the Chance of Encounter Table on the fol-
group could become aware of the other and not lowing page for when to roll and type of en-
reveal itself, allowing the group members to run counters.
away without being detected, spy on the other
Some actions or items may increase the chance
of wandering monsters. Loud noises, battles,
cursed items, or exploring special areas may al-
low the DM to check for wandering monsters
every turn—and possibly with higher chances

Chance of Encounter Table

Type of Encounter Roll Method When an unexpected encounter occurs, both
Dungeon and city sides roll 1d6. Each side that rolls a 1 or 2 is
Roll 1d6 every two turns when traveling and roll 1d12 once during the surprised. Possible results are as follows:
Wilderness night; on a 1, an encounter occurs
Determine the type of terrain the party is in and roll 1d6 once during the Neither Group Is Surprised: Both are
day and roll 1d12 once when camped at night; consult the following for aware of one another and can be on guard.
encounter occurrences
Both Groups Are Surprised: Both groups
Type of Terrain Chance lose one round due to the sudden surprise
Clear, grasslands, inhabited, or settled 1 and confusion; once the round is over, both
Forest, river, hills, barren lands, desert, ocean*, or aerial** 1-2 groups are back in control of themselves,
Swamp, jungle, or mountains aware of one another, and on guard.
1-3
One Group Is Surprised: The unsurprised
* Ocean: A roll of 1 indicates a normal ocean encounter. A roll of 2 indicates no encounter unless group can take advantage of the situation by
the ship lands at the end of the day; if so, a land encounter is used. evading (automatic success, meaning that
the other group doesn't notice them at all),
** Aerial encounters always use the Flyers subtable in the Wilderness Encounter Table, regardless by attacking (the attacking group gets one
of terrain. free round of attacks before the other group
can respond), or by other means (leaving one
(1-2, 1-3, or 1-4 on 1d6). the two parties are when the encounter takes or two members in the open to negotiate
When the DM chooses to have an encounter place. while the other members hide in ambush, for
example).
or when a die roll indicates an encounter, the When both parties are surprised, the encount-
DM must first determine or randomly roll what er distance is 1d4 x 10' (or yards if outdoors). When the DM determines that there will be
sort of encounter it is (an encounter with wan- an encounter, the DM should roll 1d6 once for
dering monsters, an NPC or a group of NPCs, or When one party is surprised, the unsurprised each group—or he can let one of the players roll
a trap). Once that's determined, he or she can party notices the surprised party at the 1d4 X 10' for the PCs, if he isn't worried about tipping
run the encounter according to the Encounter (or yards) distance rolled; the surprised party them off that something is about to happen. A
Checklist. won't notice the unsurprised party until they result of 1 or 2 means that the group in question
reach half that distance. is surprised (though this may differ with some
Encounter Distance monsters; see Chapter 14). In any given en-
When neither party is surprised, take a look at counter, one group could be surprised, or the
Once the Dungeon Master has determined the Encounter Distances Table. When the type other could, or both, or neither.
that an encounter will take place and has deter- of terrain (dungeon, wilderness, ocean/sea, or
mined the relative conditions of surprise for the underwater) is known, the DM can find out how
two groups, he or she can decide how far apart far apart the groups are when the encounter
takes place.

Encounter Checklist Encounter Distances Table

1. Game Time: Game time switches from Setting Visibility Encounter Distance
10-minute turns to 10-second rounds. Dungeon* 4d6x 10'
The DM does not have to inform the Dungeon* Very good light DM's choice 2d6x 10'
players of this until he or she informs Dungeon* Dim light** DM's choice 1d4x 10'
them that they are having an encounter. No light t DM's choice
Wilderness DM's choice 4d6 x 10 yards
2. Surprise: Both sides make appropriate Wilderness Clear daylight
rolls (1d6), the caller for the PCs and the Wilderness DM's choice 2d6 x 10 yards
DM for the monsters. Any side that rolls a Dim light**
1 or a 2 is surprised. To keep from alerting Ocean/sea No lightt DM's choice 1d4 x 10 yards
players than an encounter is imminent, Ocean/sea Ship 300 yards
the DM can simply make both rolls him- Ocean/sea Clear daylight Monster 4d6 x 10 yards
or herself. Ocean/sea Clear daylight Ship
Ocean/sea 120 yards
3. Initiative: If one side is surprised, it loses Dim light** Monster 2d6 X 10 yards
initiative automatically. Otherwise, both Ocean/sea Dim light**
sides make initiative rolls (1d6) to see who No lightt Ship 40 yards
moves, talks, or attacks first. The side that Undersea No lightt
rolls higher goes first. Any light Monster 1d4 x 10 yards
1d6 x 10 yards
4. Reactions: If the DM does not know how DM's choice
the monsters will react to the PCs, the
DM makes reaction rolls to determine * Or other indoor setting.
their initial reactions. See the Monster ** Or full darkness with infravision used.
Reactions Table under "Monster Reac- t Or very poor visibility (heavy snow or fog, sandstorm, etc.).
tions," below.
Monster Reactions The actions or words of the PCs may affect
5. Results: The DM determines the results monsters' reactions. Gestures of friendship can
of the party's actions as follows: Just because an encounter takes place does not give the PCs a bonus at the DM's discretion;
a. If the PCs trigger a trap, the DM ap- mean that the two parties automatically attack threats, attempts to appear menacing, and rude-
plies the consequences. one another. Either party may be in a mood to ness can give the PCs a penalty. Adjustments for
b. If both sides can speak, role-play the trade, talk, exchange rumors and information, PC actions can range from a — 2 penalty to a + 2
conversation until agreement is or even run away from one another. bonus. If a charismatic character is speaking for
reached, one side leaves, or a fight be- his entire party while another character is silently
gins. The player characters determine how they glaring, bristling, and otherwise indicating that
c. If the PCs run away, make a morale wish to react. The DM decides how the monsters he's a tough guy, the rudeness penalty could eas-
check for the monsters or NPCs to see and NPCs will react. Descriptions of some mon- ily cancel the Charisma bonus.
if they give chase. If so, use the pur- sters (see Chapter 14) will determine how they
suit and evasion rules later this chap- react, while the DM might wish a monster to re- Don't roll more than three times. If by the
ter to see if the PCs get away. act a certain way. When the DM wants to use a third roll the monster hasn't achieved a roll of 10
d. If one or both sides attack, play pro- random reaction for the monster or NPC, he can or better, it will decide to attack or leave.
ceeds with the Combat Sequence consult the Monster Reactions Table.
Checklist (see Chapter 8, page 102; Wandering Monster
start with Step 1 and roll for initiative If the DM wants to use the random Monster Encounters
again). Reactions Table for the PCs' encounters with
monsters and NPCs, he can roll 2d6 on the table The tables in this section will help generate
6. Encounter Ends: After the encounter and apply the indicated results. After the first wandering monster and random encounters.
ends, begin play with a new turn. Always round, the DM should modify the 2d6 roll of the The Dungeon Encounters Levels 1-10 Tables give
assume that an encounter takes at least character talking for the group by the character's guidelines for the number of monsters that con-
one full turn to resolve. Charisma bonuses or penalties. For the first reac- stitute an "encounter." For instance, an entry
tion roll, the DM shouldn't take Charisma ad- might read "Hobgoblin 1d6"; in such a case,
When neither group is surprised, both can act justments into account. roll 1d6 for the number of hobgoblins encoun-
at the same time. If one decides to attack, the tered by the player characters.
other can respond immediately. If one decides to Monster Reactions Table
run, the other can give chase. Neither has an ad- In the Wilderness Encounters Table, Castle
vantage over the other. Roll 2d6 Monster Reaction Encounters Table, and City Encounters Table, no
2-3 Monster attacks such number guidelines are given. Consult the
The same applies when both groups are sur- 4-6 Monster is aggressive (growls, description of the monster in question from
prised. Both groups are caught off guard and threatens); roll again in one round Chapter 14; the text with the headline "Num-
lose a little time gathering their wits; neither with a penalty of -4 to the roll ber of Monsters" gives handy guidelines for se-
group recovers before the other does. Once they 7-9 Monster is cautious; roll again in lecting numbers of monsters for encounters.
have themselves under control, they proceed as one round
though neither group was surprised. 10-11 Monster is neutral; roll again in The tables in this section are general tables for
one round with a bonus of +4 to an "average" dungeon. The Dungeon Master is
When one group surprises the other, it can, if the roll encouraged to make his own specific encounter
it chooses, take advantage of the situation. It 12 Monster is friendly table for specific dungeons and settings in his
might attack, in which case it would get a free campaign. These can change the frequency of
round of attacks on the other group before the The DM can substitute any appropriate response monsters, introduce new monsters of the DM's
for the ones described above. A cowardly monster creation, use a different type of die (d8, d12,
surprised group could respond. It might also try that rolls a 2-3, for instance, might flee instead of etc.), and so on.
attacking; if it rolls a 4-6 instead, it might shy away
to sneak away, in which case it would avoid the from the PCs and be ready to run. When a random encounter is to occur, the DM
other group automatically, with no chance for first needs to know where the characters are—
the other group to discover or catch it. You may need to make more than one roll on dungeon or wilderness. "City" is treated just
the Monster Reactions Table. When the result like any other wilderness terrain.
When surprise occurs, the DM looks at the ter- says to roll again in one round, allow the PCs to
rain and situation and decides exactly what has react to the monster. If they do something to get If the random encounter is in a dungeon set-
happened, describing this to the players, who a specific reaction (such as attack), you won't ting, go to the "Dungeon Encounters" section
must work within the limits of the situation. need to roll again. If they try to bluff, negotiate, below. If it's a wilderness (or a city) setting, go to
or befriend the creature, roll again with the pen- the "Wilderness Encounters" section. Both start
alty or bonus listed on the table. on page 95.

Dungeon Encounters Level 1 Table Number Dungeon Encounters Levels 4-5 Table No. Appearing
Roll Appearing Roll 1d20 Monster 1d4
1d20 Monster 1d6 1 Blink Dog ld6 + 4
1 Bandit 1d6 2 Bugbear 1
2 Beetle, Fire 1d6 3 Caecilia 1d2
3 Cave Locust 1d6 4 Cockatrice 1
4 Centipede, Giant 1d2 5 Displacer Beast 1d4 + l
5 Ghoul 1d6 6 Gargoyle 1
6 Goblin 1d3 7 Giant, Hill ld4+1
7-10 Human 2d6 8 Harpy 1d4
11 Kobold 1d2 9 Hellhound (1d3 +2 HD) 1
12 Lizard, Gecko 1 party 10 Hydra (5-headed) 1d4
13 NPC Party 1d6 11 Lycanthrope, Werewolf 1d2
14 Orc 1dl0 12 Medusa 1d3
15 Skeleton 1d2 13 Mummy 1
16 Snake, Racer 1d2 14 NPC Party 1
17 Sp1der, Crab 1d8 15 OchreJelly
18 Stirge 1d3 16 Rhagodessa 1d3
19 Troglodyte 1d3 17 Rust Monster
20 Zombie 18 Scorpion, Giant 1d2
Number 19 Troll 1d3
Dungeon Encounters Level 2 Table Appearing 20 Wraith 1d2
Roll 1d6 1d2
1d20 Monster 1
1 Beetle, Oil 1d4 Dungeon Encounters Levels 6-7 Table No. Appearing
2 Carrion Crawler 1d4 1d3
3 Ghoul 2d4 Roll 1d20 Monster 1d4
4 Gnoll 1 1 Basilisk 1d3
5 Goblin 1d6 2 Caecilia 1d2
6 Gray Ooze 1d3 3 Cockatrice 1d2
7 Hobgoblin 1 4 Giant, Hill 1d4
8-10 Human 1d6 5 Giant, Stone 1
11 Lizard, Draco 2d4 6 Hellhound (5-7 HD) 1d3
12 Lizard Man 1 party 7 Hydra (6-8 heads) 1
13 Neanderthal 1dlO 8 Lycanthrope* 1d4
14 NPC Party 2d6 9 Manticore 1d4
15 Orc 1d6 10 Minotaur 1
16 Skeleton 1 11 Mummy 1
17 Snake, Pit Viper 1d6 12 NPC Party 2d4
18 Sp1der, Black W1dow 1d6 13 OchreJelly 1d3 + l
19 Troglodyte 14 Ogre 1d3
20 Zombie Number 15 Rust Monster 1d3
Appearing 16 Spectre 1d2
Dungeon Encounters Level 3 Table 1d4 17 Sp1der, Tarantella 1d4 + l
Roll 1d4 18 Salamander, Flame 1
1d20 Monster 1d6 19 Troll
1 Ape, White 1d3 20 Vampire
2 Beetle, Tiger 1d2
3 Bugbear 1d3 * Either weretiger or werebear.
4 Carrion Crawler 1
5 Doppleganger 1d3 Dungeon Encounters Levels 8-10 Table
6 Gargoyle 1d3
7 Gelatinous Cube 1d4 Roll 1d20 Monster No. Appearing
8 Harpy 1d6 1 Basilisk 1d6
9-10 Human 1 2 Black Pudding 1
11 Living Statue, Crystal 1 party 3 Chimera 1
12 Lycanthrope, Wererat 1 4 Devil Swine 1d2
13 Medusa 1d3 5 Dragon 1d2
14 NPC party 1d4 6-7 Giant* 1d6
15 Ochre Jelly 1 8 Golem* 1
16 Ogre 1d4 9 Hydra (7-12 heads) 1
17 Shadow 1d3 10 Living Statue* 1d4 + l
18 Sp1der, Tarantella 1d6 + l
19 Thoul 11-12 Lycanthrope* 1
20 Wight 13 NPC Party 1
14 Purple Worm 1d4 + l
15 Rust Monster 1d4
16 Salamander* 1d4 + l
17 Snake* 1d3
18 Spectre 1d4 + l
19 Sp1der* 1d2
20 Vampire

* Select any one type and modify the number appearing for the level of monster.

Dungeon Encounters Wilderness Encounters Table

Determine the dungeon level where the en- Roll Clear,
counter takes place. Consult the table corres-
ponding to that dungeon level. Roll 1d20 on 1d8 Grassland Woods River Swamp
that table to see what sort of monster is en- 1 Human Human Human Human
countered. 2 Flyer Flyer Flyer Flyer
3 Humanoid Humanoid Humanoid Humanoid
Make whatever die roll is indicated in the 4 Animal Insect Insect Swimmer
"Number Encountered" column to deter- 5 Animal Unusual Swimmer Undead
mine how many monsters of that type appear 6 Unusual Animal Swimmer Undead
in this encounter. Consult Chapter 14 for de- 7 Dragon Animal Animal Insect
tails about that monster. 8 Insect Dragon Dragon Dragon

Play out the encounter as described earlier Roll Barren, Settled*
under "Encounters." Castle**
1d8 Mountain, Hill Desert Flyer
In dungeon encounters, first determine the 1 Human Human Humanoid
dungeon level where the encounter is taking 2 Flyer Flyer Human
place. The DM or writer who created the 3 Humanoid Humanoid Human
dungeon will normally have designated it "Level 4 Unusual Human Animal
1," "Level 2," or some such. If he or she hasn't, 5 Animal Animal Animal
look at the types of monsters found on the 6 Humanoid Dragon Dragon
dungeon level; if they tend to average 1 experi- 7 Dragon Undead
ence level or HD, it's probably Level 1; if they 8 Dragon Animal Jungle
tend to average 3 experience levels or HD, it's Human
probably level 3; and so on. Roll Flyer
Insect
Below are tables for several different dungeon 1d8 City Ocean Insect
levels. Roll ld20 on the table that corresponds to 1 Human Human Humanoid
the dungeon level in question. The 1d20 result 2 Undead Flyer Animal
will identify a type of monster. Now roll the dice 3 Humanoid Swimmer Animal
indicated in the right-hand column to deter- 4 Human Swimmer Dragon
mine how many of that monster are involved in 5 Human Swimmer
the encounter. 6 Human Swimmer
7 Human Swimmer
For example, on the first level of a dungeon, 8 Special t Dragon
the DM rolls an encounter. He consults the
Dungeon Encounters Level 1 Table below and * Any inhabited rural area is "Settled."
rolls 1d20; the result is a 14. According to the ** Consult the "Special Castle Encounters" section below for Subtable: 10. Castle Encounters.
table, the encounter will be with orcs. The die t Consult the "Special City Encounters" section below for Subtable: 11. City Encounters.
roll in the "Number Appearing" column of the
table is 1d6; the DM rolls 1d6 and gets a 4. This against the column corresponding to the correct 1d6; if the result is a 3, roll 1d6 again and see
means that the encounter is with four orcs. The terrain type. This will direct you to one of eleven which of the demihuman races is the result. For
DM can now consult the description of orcs in subtables, nine of which immediately follow the human owners of a castle, regardless of class, roll
Chapter 14 to see what they do, how tough they main table. The other two subtables are present- ld20 + 8 for the owner's level. Demihumans'
are, how they behave, and so forth. ed with explanatory text in the sections that fol- levels are listed in the table.
low the the ninth subtable.
The monsters listed in the Dungeon Encount- If the DM has not already determined what
ers Tables are different levels of difficulty, de- Roll 1d12 on the subtable indicated by the the castle inhabitants' reactions will be to player
pending on the level of dungeon they are previous roll. Check the 1d12 result against the
typically found in. Later in this book is a section column corresponding to the terrain type. characters, he or she can either check the Mon-
on dungeon design that discusses the difference ster Reactions Table given earlier in this chapter
in difficulty between different levels of a Example: The player characters are traveling or check the Castle Reactions Table on page 99-
dungeon. through heavily wooded mountains. The DM The "Reaction" columns of the table assume
decides that this is more mountainous terrain
Wilderness Encounters than it is wooded. She rolls on the Wilderness that the party does nothing to either arouse sus-
Encounters Table; her 1d8 roll is a 6. On the picion or to inspire trust; the DM can certainly
Find the type of terrain on the Wilderness "Barren, Mountain, Hill" column, a humanoid adjust the die roll if the PCs' actions toward the
Encounters Table where the encounter is tak- encounter is indicated. The DM looks at the hu- castle inhabitants warrant the modification.
ing place. Roll 1d8 and check the column manoid subtable, rolls 1dl2, and checks the re-
corresponding to the terrain type. The result sult against the column for "Barren, Mountain, Remember, too, that some high-level PC
tells which subtable to consult. Go to that Hill." The DM's roll is a 2, which indicates a fighters may have the right of sanctuary at castles
subtable and roll 1d12 on the column corres- cloud giant for the PCs' encounter.
ponding to the terrain type where the en- in the campaign; a PC with that right who de-
counter is taking place. The result tells which Once the encountered monster is determined,
monster the characters encounter. see Chapter 14 for details about that monster. clares his name and title will normally receive a
Chapter 14 will describe the monster's habits, "Friendly" result.
See Chapter 14 for details about that mon- activities, number likely to appear, and so forth.
ster, including how many monsters appear. Note that the men listed are only part of the
Play out the encounter as described under With all the information in hand, the en- castle owner's forces and are simply the unit sent
"Encounters" on page 91, using the visibil- counter with the PCs is ready to play out. Con- out after annoying travelers; the rest of the cas-
ity, distance, and surprise factors. sult the Encounter Checklist and the Encounter tle's forces should include other men and might
Distances Table for other factors regarding en- even include special monsters.
In a wilderness encounter, the type of terrain counters.
plays an important part. On the Wilderness En- Pursue: The men will chase the party off the
counters Table, roll 1d8 and check the result Special Castle Encounters lord's land or charge the characters a toll. This
The DM can determine character class of castle sum may vary depending on the personality of

inhabitants either by using the Subtable: 10. the lord, how wealthy the characters look, and
Castle Encounters (page 98) or by selecting class- other factors. Refusing to pay may result in the
es as appropriate. If the table is to be used, roll a PCs being arrested, run off the land, or attacked.
The DM can ignore this result if the castle owner
is Lawful and the PCs have behaved well.

Ignore: No attempt is made to aid or hinder
the party.

Subtable: 1. Animals Woods River Barren, The Subtable: 11. City Encounters indicates
Roll Clear, Animal Herd Animal Herd Mountain /Hill only the encountered character's profession—
1dl2 Grassland Boar Boar Animal Herd not his level or intent. The DM must decide how
1 Animal Herd Cat, Panther Cat, Panther Ape, Snow to use this type of character in the encounter.
2 Baboon, Rock Cat, Tiger Cat, Tiger Ape, White
3 Boar Lizard,Gecko Crab, Giant Baboon, Rock For example, an Alchemist might wish to hire
4 Cat, Lion Lizard, Draco Crocodile Bear, Cave the characters to find him some rare ingredients;
5 Elephant Lizard, Tuatara Crocodile, Large Bear, Grizzly an Assassin might be stalking one of the PCs; a
6 Ferret, Giant Snake, Viper Fish, Rock Cat, Mountain Lion Brewer could have set up a drinking contest to
7 Horse, Riding Spider, Crab Leech, Giant Mule determine whose beer is better—his own or a
8 Lizard, Draco Unicorn Rat, Giant Snake, Viper competitor's—and tries to persuade a PC to par-
9 Mule Wolf Shrew, Giant Snake,Rattler ticipate; and lastly, a Government Official could
10 Snake, Viper Wolf, Dire Toad, Giant Wolf be seeking revenge against a high-ranking thief
11 Snake, Rattler Settled Jungle Wolf, Dire who is blackmailing him, and he might try to
12 Weasel, Giant Animal Herd Animal Herd persuade the PCs to help him.
Animal Herd Boar Prehistoric
Roll Boar Cat, Panther Bear, Cave You can also use the Subtable: City Encount-
1dl2 Desert Cat, Tiger Lizard, Draco Cat, Sabretooth ers when trying to think of an interesting loca-
Ferret, Giant Lizard, Gecko Crocodile, Giant tion for an encounter. Translate the name of the
1 Animal Herd Horse, Riding Lizard, Horned Elephant, Mastodon type of character to the appropriate type of
2 Animal Herd Rat, Giant Rat, Giant Pterodactyl building or site—for instance, "Judge" would
3 Camel Shrew, Giant Shrew, Giant Pteranondon become "Courtroom," while "Undertaker"
4 Camel Snake, Racer Snake, Viper Snake, Racer would become "Cemetery."
5 Cat, Lion Snake, Viper Snake, Python Snake, Viper
6 Cat, Lion Spider, Tarantella Snake, Spitting Triceratops Wandering Monsters and
7 Lizard, Gecko Wolf Spider, Crab Triceratops High-Level PCs
8 Lizard, Tuatara Tyrannosaurus
9 Snake, Viper Wolf, Dire In low-level play, wandering monsters help
10 Snake,Rattler make adventures interesting, keep the characters
11 Spider, Widow alert, and give the characters experience in dan-
12 Spider, Tarantella gerous situations. Once the characters are very
experienced, though, wandering monsters no
Subtable: 2. Humanoids Woods River Swamp longer serve this last purpose. If the DM runs
Bugbear Bugbear Gnoll them exactly as they come up on the Encounter
Roll Clear, Cyclops Elf Goblin Tables, monster encounters will be nothing but
1dl2 Grassland Dryad Gnoll Hobgoblin boring delays or (at best) comic relief.
Elf Hobgoblin Lizard Man
1 Bugbear Giant, Hill Lizard Man Lizard Man Therefore, when the PCs are high level, the
2 Elf Gnoll Lizard Man Lizard Man DM needs to think briefly about every random
3 Giant, Hill Goblin Nixie Nixie encounter and decide how the PCs' experience
4 Gnoll Hobgoblin Ogre Ogre levels affect things. He or she should discard
5 Goblin Ogre Orc Orc (that is, not play) encounters that would be
6 Halfling Orc Sprite Troglodyte nothing but dull combats and keep the encount-
7 Hobgoblin Thoul Thoul Troll ers that have other purposes. To that end there
8 Ogre Troll Troll Troll are essentially three types of encounters the DM
9 Orc Jungle can consider running.
10 Pixie Desert City and Bugbear
11 Thoul Giant, Fire Inhabited Cyclops For example, there's nothing wrong with com-
12 Troll Goblin Dwarf Elf ic relief encounters as long as they're deliberately
Hobgoblin Elf Giant, Fire run with that intent. For example, a group of
Roll Barren, Hobgoblin Giant, Hill Giant, Hill well-played bugbears blunderingintoagroupof
1dl2 Mountain, Hill Ogre Gnome Gnoll high-level PCs can provide a lot of humor. But
Ogre Gnoll Goblin recurring encounters along the same lines will,
1 Dwarf Ogre Goblin Lizard Man after a short while, wear very thin.
2 Giant, Cloud Orc Halfling Ogre
3 Giant, Frost Orc Hobgoblin Orc Then, there are tactical encounters. A large
4 Giant, Hill Pixie Ogre Troglodyte group of lower level monsters who have a superi-
5 Giant, Stone Sprite Orc Troll or knowledge of the terrain, good tactics, traps,
6 Giant, Storm Thoul Pixie and the advantage of surprise can challenge (or
7 Gnome Sprite at least delay) high-level characters.
8 Goblin
9 Kobold There are also respectful avoidance
10 Orc encounters. Word of a high-level party's power
11 Troglodyte will certainly circulate in any dungeon or wilder-
12 Troll ness setting, along with descriptions of the indi-
viduals involved; weaker monsters will watch for
Friendly: The castle owner invites the party to ever a special result is rolled, the DM can either and avoid these dangerouscharacters. Whensur-
stay. (This is not necessarily actual friendship; roll again and use one of the more common re- prise encounters occur, the low-level monsters
some NPCs may have evil intentions toward the sults, or he or she can roll on the Subtable: 11. will automatically opt to preferably evade the
unsuspecting party. . . .) City Encounters (on page 98). PCs or to talk with them; such monsters would
attack the PCs only under the rarest situations.
Special City Encounters To use this subtable, roll ld8 to find the sec- Respectful avoidance encounters help reinforce
On the Wilderness Encounters Table, the en- tion of the subtable to be used (the subtable is to the PCs that they're more powerful and influ-
split into sections marked 1-8). Then roll 1d20 to ential characters now—and it's a boost to their
try for city terrain has a "Special" result. When- find out what sort of person the PCs encounter. egos.

To reflect the powers of high-level characters,
the DM may also alter the monsters' morale (de-
scribed in the next chapter). If the PCs demon-

Subtable: 3. Humans*

Roll 1dl2 Clear, Grassland Woods River Hill Desert
1 Adventurer Adventurer Adventurer Adventurer
Bandit Bandit Bandit Bandit Adventurer
2 Bandit Bandit Buccaneer Berserker Cleric
Berserker Berserker Buccaneer Berserker Dervish
3 Brigand Brigand Buccaneer Brigand Dervish
4 Cleric Brigand Cleric Caveman Fighter
5 Fighter Brigand Cleric Caveman Magic-User
Magic-User Cleric Fighter Caveman Merchant
6 Merchant Fighter Magic-User Cleric Noble
Merchant Magic-User Merchant Fighter Nomad
7 Noble Merchant Merchant Magic-User Nomad
8 Nomad NPC Party NPC Party Merchant Nomad
9 Nomad
10
11
12

Roll 1dl2 Settled Ocean Jungle Swamp
1 Acolyte Adventurer Adventurer Adventurer
Adventurer Buccaneer Adventurer Adventurer
2 Bandit Buccaneer Bandit Bandit
Bandit Merchant Berserker Bandit
3 Cleric Merchant Brigand Berserker
4 Fighter Merchant Brigand Brigand
5 Magic-User Merchant Brigand Cleric
6 Merchant Merchant Caveman Fighter
7 Noble Pirate Cleric Magic-User
8 NPC Party Pirate Fighter Merchant
9 Trader Pirate Magic-User NPC Party
10 Veteran Pirate Merchant Trader
11
12

* When an NPC party is indicated, the encounter is with one character of name level or greater, plus 2-20 low-level apprentices. When a specific level title
is given, the encounter is with 6-15 individuals of that level.

Subtable: 4. Flyers Subtable: 5. Swimmers

Roll 1dl2 Mountain Desert All Other Roll 1d12 River/Lake Ocean Swamp
1 Bee, Giant Gargoyle Bee, Giant 1 Crab, Giant Giant, Storm Crab, Giant
Gargoyle Gargoyle Cockatrice Crocodile Hydra, Sea Crocodile
2 Griffon Griffon 2 Crocodile, Large Hydra, Sea Crocodile
Harpy Gargoyle Fish, Giant Bass Hydra, Sea Crocodile, Large
3 Harpy Insect Swarm Griffon 3 Fish, Sturgeon Merman Crocodile, Large
4 Hippogriff Lizard, Draco Hippogriff 4 Leech, Giant Snake, Sea Leech, Giant
5 Insect Swarm Manticore Lizard, Draco 5 Leech, Giant Snake, Sea Leech, Giant
6 Manticore Manticore Pegasus Lizard Man Snake, Sea Leech, Giant
7 Pegasus Manticore Pixie 6 Lizard Man Snake, Sea Lizard Man
8 Robber Fly Roc, Small Robber Fly 7 Merman Termite, Water Lizard Man
9 Roc, Small Roc, Small Nixie Termite, Water Termite, Water
10 Roc, Large Roc, Large Sprite 8 Termite, Water Termite, Water Termite, Water
11 Roc, Giant Roc, Giant Stirge 9
12 10
11
12

Subtable: 6. Dragons Subtable: 7. Insects Subtable: 8. Undead Subtable: 9. Unusual
Roll Roll Roll
1dl2* 1dl2 Roll 1dl2
1 Chimera 1 Ant, Giant 1dl2 1 Basilisk
2 Dragon, Black 2 Bee, Giant 2 Blink Dog
3 Dragon, Blue 3 Beetle, Fire 1 Ghoul 3 Centaur
4 Dragon, Gold 4 Beetle, Oil 2 Ghoul 4 Displacer Beast
5 Dragon, Green 5 Beetle, Tiger 3 Ghoul 5 Gorgon
6 Dragon, Red 6 Insect Swarm 4 Mummy 6 Lycanthrope,
7 Dragon, White 7 Rhagodessa 5 Skeleton Werebear
8 Hydra 8 . Robber Fly 6 Skeleton 7 Lycanthrope,
9 Hydra 9 Scorpion, Giant 7 Spectre Wereboar
10 Wyvern 10 Spider, Black Widow 8 Wight 8 Lycanthrope, Wererat
11 Salamander, Flame 11 Spider, Crab 9 Wraith 9 Lycanthrope,
12 Salamander, Frost 12 Spider, Tarantella 10 Vampire Weretiger
11 Zombie 10 Lycanthrope,
* At sea, roll 1d10. 12 Zombie Werewolf
11 Medusa
12 Treant

Subtable: 10. Castle Encounters Level Subtable: 11. City Encounters* Section 2 Section 3
Roll ld20 + 8 Section 1 Boatman / Gondolier Construction Worker
1d6 Owner of the Castle ld20 + 8 Bodyguard Cooper
1 Cleric 1 Alchemist Bonecarver Craft Guildsman
2 Magic-User 12th 2 Animal Trainer Bootmaker Dairy Worker
3 Demihuman 10th 3 Apothecary Bowyer Dancer
Roll 1d6 again: 8th 4 Archaeologist Brewer Diplomat
1-2 Dwarf ld20 + 8 5 Armorer Broommaker Diver
3-4 Elf 6 Artist/Sculptor Butcher Docksman / Wharfsman
5-6 Halfling 7 Assassin Candlemaker Doctor/Dentist
4-6 Fighter 8 Astrologer Caravan Master Druid Adventurer
1d6 Owner's Alignment 9 Astronomer Carpenter Dwarf Adventurer
1 Chaotic 10 Athlete Carter Elf Adventurer
2-4 Neutral 11 Baker Chandler Entertainer
5-6 Lawful 12 Banker Charcoalmaker Farmer
13 Barber Chef Ferryman
strate fierce magic or combat abilities, the mon- 14 Bartender Chemist Fighter Adventurer
sters might decide to retreat or reconsider their 15 Basketweaver Church/Temple
position. 16 Bazaar Merchant Fighter, Mercenary
17 Beekeeper Employee Fisherman
It's a mistake simply to change the wandering Cleric Adventurer Fletcher
monster encounter tables so that only tough 18 Beggar Coachman Foundry Worker
monsters appear. First because it's not very logi- 19 Blacksmith Constable
cal (the PCs will wonder where all the lesser crea- 20 Boardinghouse Keeper
tures went), and second because it's frustrating
to the PCs (who will assume, correctly, that it 1d20 Section 4 Section 5 Section 6
doesn't matter how strong they become because 1 Freighter Jailor Merchant
the DM will just increase the power of every 2 Furnituremaker Jeweler Merchants' Guild Officer
monster in the world to compensate for them). 3 Furrier Judge Metalsmith
4 Gambler Juggler/Mime Military Officer
None of this means that the DM should en- 5 Gemcutter Kennel Keeper Miller
tirely get rid of encounters with less-powerful Monastery Worker
monsters. For instance, when a weak monster 6 Gentleman / Lady Laborer
serves as a clue to a dangerous but an as yet un- Land Officer Moneylender
discovered situation or is an interesting and en- 7 Geologist Mystic Adventurer
tertaining role-playing opportunity, the monster 8 Glassblower Lawyer
serves a definite purpose and should be kept. 9 Goldsmith Leatherworker Nobleman /Noblewoman
10 Government Official Lighthouse Keeper Peasant
Evasion and Pursuit 11 Graveyard Keeper Locksmith Peddler
12 Guardsman Logger Politician
When two groups encounter one another, one 13 Guide Lumberyard Worker Potter
or both may decide to evade the other, or one 14 Guild Officer Public Bathkeeper
group may decide to pursue the evading group. Madame Ropemaker
This means that, as soon as the groups spot one 15 Halfling Adventurer Madman
another, the evading group turns and runs, try- 16 Harlot Magic-User Adventurer Royalty
ing to get out of the pursuers' sight. Time is 17 Healer Magic-User Guild Officer Sage
measured in rounds for as long as the chase oc- 18 Herbalist Majordomo Sailor, Captain
curs. The side running away is "evading," and 19 Hunter Mason Sailor, Common
the other chasing is "in pursuit." The Evasion 20 Innkeeper Mayor Saloonkeeper
Checklist on page 99 gives a step-by-step proce-
dure for handling evasion and pursuit. 1d20 Section 7 Section 8
1 Schoolteacher Thief Adventurer
Definitions Thieves' Guild Officer
2 Scribe Town Drunk
The terms used in the Evasion Checklist are 3 Serf
defined in the following subsections and are pre- 4 Servant, Hired Town Hall Employee
sented in the order that they are most likely to Servant, Indentured Trading Post Employee
occur. 5 Translator
6 Shipwright
Contact 7 Shoemaker Treasurer
Contact occurs when the two parties encount- 8 Singer Undertaker
9 Slave Vagrant
er one another, as per the earlier encounter rules. 10 Smuggler
They do not have to be near one another, only Vigilante
within visual range. When the encounter occurs, 11 Soapmaker Warehouse Worker
the DM determines the encounter distance and 12 Spy Watchman
the parties' relative states of surprise. 13 Stablekeeper Watering-Hole Worker
14 Stoneworker Weaver
Decision to Evade 15 Tailor Welldigger
In an encounter, if one group surprises an- 16 Tanner Wellkeeper
17 Tavernkeeper Wheelwright
other (but is not itself surprised), it may auto- 18 Tax Assessor Winemaker
matically evade the surprised group by turning 19 Taxidermist Woodcarver
away and moving off at another direction at run- 20 Thatcher Woodcutter

* First roll ld8 to determine which section to use for the encounter; then roll 1d20 in that section to
find the city-dweller used for the encounter.

Castle Reactions Table Patrol Type/Size Pursue Reaction (Roll 1d6) Friendly
Owner's Class 2-12 heavy horsemen 1-3 Ignore 6
Fighter 2-12 heavy footmen 1 4-5 6
Magic-User 2-12 medium horsemen 1-2 2-5 5-6
Cleric 2-12 demihumans 1 3-4 6
Demihuman 2-5

ning speed for one round. The nonsurprised Evasion Checklist ning speed, and time is measured in rounds. As
group has enough time to get clear of the area though this were combat, each side rolls initia-
before the surprised group can recover enough to 1. Contact: The two parties encounter one
give chase. In fact, if the surprised party didn't another. tive once per round, with the two sides taking
detect the nonsurprised party, the surprised par- movement in initiative order. The chase will con-
ty will never know that it has just been through 2. Decision to Evade: One party decides to tinue until one of the following events occurs.
an encounter. evade. If the evading party is not sur-
prised and the other party is surprised, The pursuers decide to give up the chase. PCs
Decision to Pursue evasion is automatically successful; go to decide whether or not to keep chasing for their
If neither party in an encounter was surprised Step 6. If the other party is not surprised, own reasons; monsters and NPCs, on the
go to Step 2. otherhand, make a new morale check every five
and one party took off in an attempt to evade, rounds, with failure indicating that they have
the other party must now decide whether to pur- 3. Decision to Pursue: The other party de- given up the chase.
sue. Player characters decide for their own rea- cides whether to pursue. The PCs decide
sons whether to give chase. Monsters and NPCs for themselves; monsters must make a The pursuers catch up to the evaders. This can
make a morale check (described in the next morale check (defined in Chapter 8). On happen for one of a number of reasons. If the
chapter). If the NPC group contains different a successful morale check, the monsters pursuers end one round having caught up to the
types of monsters, use the morale check of the give chase (go to Step 4). On an unsuc- evaders (the DM should be keeping track of their
monster that leads the group. If the monsters/ cessful morale check, the monsters do not relative positions to determine this) and then
NPCs successfully make the morale check, they chase (go to Step 6). win initiative the next round, they can attack,
give chase; if they fail, they let the PCs go and do forcing the evaders to turn and fight. Or the
not pursue. 4. Attempt to Evade: The DM rolls on the evaders could run into some obstacle that pre-
Evasion Table. If the PCs succeed, they vents them from continuing (a sheer cliff face, a
Attempt to Evade have evaded the pursuers (go to Step 6). dead-end hallway, a magically locked door, an-
If neither group was surprised (or if both were) If they fail, pursuit continues (Step 5). other party of enemies, and so on). In these situ-
ations, combat usually results, though the
and one group wishes to try evasion, the DM 5. Pursuit Continues: Movement is mea- evaders might choose to surrender instead.
rolls on the Evasion Table. Find the size of the sured in rounds and conducted at run-
party and compare it to the number of creatures ning speed; both sides roll 1d6 for The evaders escape. There are a number of
encountered. This gives the percentage chance initiative once per round; the side with ways evaders can escape their pursuers, including
that the evasion will be successful. If a large par- the higher roll moves first each round. the following:
ty breaks up into small parties, roll for each small The chase continues until one of the fol-
party separately; in this way, some parties could lowing happens: • Evaders can, if time permits, cast a spell
evade while others could be caught. a. The pursuers decide to give up. Mon- that will allow them to get away. For example,
sters must make a new morale check they might cast a teleport spell to whisk the party
Example: A PC party of eight characters runs every five rounds and give up the chase to safety; a pass wall spell to get them some-
into a scouting party of 12 orcs. Comparing the if they fail the check. Go to Step 6. where inaccessible (followed by a dispel magic to
"Party Size 5-12" entry to the "Number of b. The evading party is caught by the cancel the pass wall so that the pursuers cannot
Monsters Encountered 9 + " line, the PCs have a pursuers (because of superior speed or follow); or a wall ofiron spell to forestall pursuit
70% chance to evade the orcs. The DM rolls a terrain obstacles). Combat occurs; go long enough for the evaders to get away.
d100; on a 01-70, the PCs have successfully to the Combat Checklist in Chapter 8.
evaded the monsters, and on a 71-00, the mon- c. The evading party escapes (by using • If possible, evaders can run far enough
sters successfully pursue the characters. magic spells or by finally making a ahead of the pursuers so that they are temporari-
successful evasion roll on the Evasion ly out of vision range when they reach an area of
The DM may adjust evasion chances for ter- Table when terrain and circumstances
rain, differences in speed, and other factors as warrant). Go to Step 6. difficult terrain (for example, thick woods, a
noted in the Evasion Table. For example, woods long dungeon corridor riddled with doors and
might add a 25 % chance to evade the monsters. 6. Regain Bearings: Evaders rest and deter- side passages, etc.). In such cases, the DM would
If monsters are familiar with an area, they may mine where they now are. again roll on the Evasion Table for the evaders,
be able to evade pursuers by rapidly turning cor- and success would mean that the pursuers fail to
ners, closing doors behind them, and so forth. If follow their tracks.
one group can move at least twice as fast as the
other, the faster group adjusts the chances of Evasion Table
evasion by 25% in its favor (that is, if the faster
group is pursuing, it subtracts 25% from the Party No. of Monsters Chance of Condition Adjustment
evaders' evasion chance, and if the faster group Size Encountered Evasion in Effect to Chance
is evading, it adds 25% to its evasion chance). If 1-4 1 50% Wooded terrain
the pursuing group has sent out small groups of 70% Featureless terrain + 25%
scouts, evasion is made more difficult (a - 10% 5-12 2-3 90% Pursuers are twice -15%
penalty is applied to the evasion chance). 13-24 4+ 35%
25 + 1-3 50% as fast as evaders -25%
Important Note: Regardless of the number of 4-8 70% Evaders are twice as
evasion penalties, the evading group always has 9+ 25% + 25%
at least a 5 % chance to evade. 1-6 35% fast as pursuers
7-16 50% Pursuers have -15%
Pursuit Continues 17 + 10%
If the first evasion attempt was unsuccessful, 1-10 25% scouts in place
11-30 35%
the chase is on. Movement is carried out at run- 31 +

• Evaders can drop goods that the monsters consult their map. and the DM should enforce Ship Evasion Table Chance of
might want; a hungry monster might want meat this fact rigorously. If their movement carried
rations, for example, while a vampire might be them into areas they already knew or had Evading Ship's Speed Evasion
more content with magical treasures. In these mapped, they're fine. But, at the DM's discre- (per round) 80%
cases, the DM rolls 1d6 ifhe or she feels that the tion, their attempts at evasion could have carried Faster than pursuer 50%
item dropped is indeed appealing to the mon- them deep into unknown territory (such as wil- 0'-30' slower 40%
ster. On a 1-3, the monster stops to consume (or derness off the posted roads and trails or unex- 31'-60' slower 35%
retrieve) the proffered goods and is delayed long plored dungeon levels), and now the characters 61'-90' slower 25%
enough for the evaders to get away. are lost; they'll have to explore their way back to 91'-120' slower 10%
the areas they know. 121' + slower
Regain Bearings
If the evaders do get away, they need to rest Evasion at Sea If evasion is successful, the pursuer loses sight
of its prey and cannot find it again or attack it
from their exertions and regain their bearings— Ships meeting at sea may wish to evade one that day. A ship can evade its pursuer by sailing
that is, determine where they now are. another. To determine one ship's chance of elud- into a baffling archipelago, heading into a con-
ing another ship, consult the Ship Evasion Table. cealing fog, hiding itself in a cove and ducking
For every round the chase lasted, the evaders out once the pursuers are past, and so forth.
moved at full running speed in directions chosen
or assumed by the DM. They didn't have time to If the evasion is not successful, the pursuer
starts at a distance of 300 yards on a clear day. (At
the DM's discretion, if the weather is impairing
vision, the pursuer may start closer.) The pursu-
ing ship closes in.

If the pursuer's speed is 0-30' per round
greater than the evader (or actually slower), the
rate of closing is 10 yards per round. If the differ-
ence is greater than 30' per round, the pursuer
closes in at its normal movement rate.

A slower vessel can close in on a faster one by
virtue of superior sailing. If the evading ship
missed its roll for evasion on the Ship Evasion Ta-
ble yet it is faster than the pursuing ship, this
means that the pursuer is sailing much more ef-
fectively than the evader.

If the DM is using the optional general skills
rules, he or she can roll the two captains' Pilot-
ing skills in competition with one another. If the
evading ship's captain rolls his skill better, he
evades pursuit; if the pursuer rolls his better, he
is able to close at the rates described above.

Balancing Encounters
(Optional)

When the DM is uncertain as to whether an
encounter is a fair challenge, he or she can use
the following system to make that determina-
tion. This optional rule gives a fairly accurate es-
timate of an encounter's impact on a PCs' party.
Although this system is too involved to use with
most random encounters, it is useful for pre-
pared encounters. However, the DM is never re-
quired to use it, and no other rules in the D&D®
game depend on its use.

The system makes the following assumptions:
• The PC party is composed of a normal mix

ofcharacter classes who are adequately equipped
(with both gear and magic). Review any special
abilities of this encounter's monster; if it has
abilities that no member of the party can with-
stand, this encounter is too tough for them.

• The monster is encountered in a normal
melee. If the monster is waiting in ambush or
has special weapons or traps, the DM should
treat the encounter as one level tougher than the
calculations show.

• The monsters encountered are all the same
type. If a mixed group of monsters is encoun-
tered, make sure the total of the monsters' ad-
justed Hit Dice falls within the desired range. If
the monsters are mounted, add only half the HD
of the mount or rider, whichever is weaker, as ad-